Title
Norfolk Southern Intermodal Yard Property Acquisition
Action
Action:
A. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a purchase sale agreement and any ancillary agreements with Norfolk Southern Railway and their affiliates for $14,800,000 to acquire 17.88 acres of land, and
B. Adopt a budget ordinance appropriating $8,500,000 from the CATS Revenue Reserve Fund to the CATS Capital Projects Fund.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
John Lewis, CATS
Kelly Goforth, CATS
Explanation
§ The 17.88-acre property (parcel identification numbers: 083-011-26, 083-011-29, 083-011-30, 083-011-31) is located along North Brevard Street and Parkwood Avenue in the Optimist Park neighborhood (Council District 1).
§ This property sits immediately adjacent to the existing CATS North Brevard Light Rail Facility (NBLRF), which was constructed as part of the Blue Line Extension (BLE) project.
§ This purchase will preserve the ability to expand the existing CATS rail yard to meet ongoing and future needs of CATS.
§ Given the location of this property next to existing CATS operations and the constrained capacity of existing facilities, CATS believes the acquisition of this property is critical to ensuring that CATS can meet the long-term capacity requirements of operating and maintaining the LYNX Blue Line light rail service.
§ In addition, this site is being evaluated as a location to meet the future vehicle maintenance and storage needs for the future LYNX Silver Line project.
§ The remaining $6,300,000 required to purchase the property was previously budgeted for in the CATS Capital Projects Fund.
History
§ The BLE project purchased the existing NBLRF site from Norfolk Southern in 2014, when Norfolk Southern relocated its intermodal facility to the airport and the city secured an option to purchase the property.
§ Although CATS had originally planned to purchase the entire intermodal property, due to financial capacity constraints identified in 2009, the amount of property to be acquired for the BLE project was reduced.
§ After working with Norfolk Southern to determine the limits of the property to be acquired, the city had an appraisal and review appraisal completed, which established the valuation at $14.8 million.
§ On September 8, 2022, CATS received approval from FTA on the environmental documentation to acquire this property as a protective purchase. On October 3, 2022, Norfolk Southern accepted $14.8 million as the purchase price.
Fiscal Note
Funding: CATS Capital Investment Plan
Attachments
Attachment(s)
Map
Budget Ordinance