BRADENTON, Fla. –A sports industry consultant will lead Florida's privately owned passenger train project as the company explores expansion possibilities in other states.
Dave Howard is the new chief executive officer of the Brightline-brand train service launching soon between Miami and West Palm Beach, All Aboard Florida announced Wednesday.
Howard takes over from Michael Reininger, who is spearheading new development and growth opportunities – including expansion of the Brightline system – as executive director at Florida East Coast Industries, AAF's parent company.
Both AAF and FECI are owned by the hedge fund Fortress Investment Group.
The new management takes over as AAF continues to wait for a federal court ruling on whether the Florida project can use tax exempt private-activity bonds to finance Fortress's venture.
On Jan. 30, the U.S. Department of Transportation and AAF argued for dismissal of lawsuits brought by two Florida counties seeking to block AAF from using $1.75 billion of PABs to finance its entire project from Miami to Orlando.
If U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper agrees, it could be the end of the line for the legal challenges filed by Indian River and Martin counties in early 2015.
In arguing the cases should be dismissed, USDOT and AAF said that the financing scheme has changed and currently there is no PAB authorization for phase 2 of the train service between West Palm Beach and Orlando, which passes through Indian River and Martin counties.
AAF recently received a new $600 million PAB allocation to finance the intercity service between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
Howard took over as CEO on Monday. He is "honored to have the opportunity to help build a business that is so important to the state of Florida," he said in a news release.
"We're introducing a much-needed alternative transportation solution for Floridians and visitors that will transform the regional economy and downtown cores," said Howard, the co-founder of sports consulting firm Howard And Sergi LLC in New York.
He has also has served as president of MSG Sports and an executive vice president with the New York Mets.
Wes Edens, co-founder of Fortress Investment Group, made a rare comment about the future of its train service in the same announcement about AFF's new management on Wednesday.
"There is an unprecedented opportunity to replicate the remarkable success Brightline has built over the last five years in many other places," Edens said. "We have proof of concept for delivering private-sector led transportation projects that can be created efficiently, quickly and profitably.
"As we see the impact of Brightline take hold in Florida, we're going to look to translate our success across the country," he said.
AAF said Brightline will begin operating this summer between Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
The company is continuing to obtain permits for the West Palm Beach-to-Orlando segment, and has not estimated the latest timeframe for starting that service.
