Biography
Juan D. Reyes brings years of experience in public and private development to support clients navigating land use, development, finance and permitting. With a unique background spanning from federal leadership to large-scale urban and rural municipal development, historic preservation and the private sector, Juan leverages his extensive knowledge of federal, state and municipal regulations to advance your goals regarding zoning, planning, landmark and building code matters, and governmental funding and approvals.
Juan served as acting head and chief counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and senior advisor and counsel to the Build America Bureau of the U.S. Department of Transportation from 2017-19. During this time, he oversaw the FRA’s 950-member staff and the agency’s $3 billion budget. Juan was the principal legal advisor to the FRA on all U.S. passenger and freight rail matters, including safety regulations, legislation, research and development.
In his role as chief counsel of the FRA, Juan supported multi-billion dollar U.S. rail upgrades, including the $24 billion Northeast corridor improvement project, the Hudson Tunnel Environmental Impact Statements, development of federally funded Amtrak Stations in major cities throughout the country, Chicago’s billion dollar Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) project, and the development of a successful strategic plan to mandate the implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) on 41 railroads. Juan developed regulations for Elon Musk’s proposed “Hyperloop” and “Electric Skate” technologies, along with high speed rail projects in Texas, Florida, California and the Northeast. His role with the FRA kept Juan active on Capitol Hill, where he participated in five Congressional hearings and testified before Congress’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.