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Six new industrial locations have been awarded BNSF Railway Company’s Certified Sites designation.
Four of the new Certified Sites are the first for their state in Arizona, Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri.
Two new Illinois Certified Sites bring the state’s total count to four.
In order to be considered for the designation, sites must undergo a thorough analysis, which includes an evaluation of environmental and geotechnical standards, available utilities, site availability and existing and projected infrastructure.
“Since the program’s inception in March 2016, BNSF’s Certified Sites have attracted more than $140 million of customer investments,” said Colby Tanner, assistant vice president, economic development. “This is a testament to our communities’ partnerships and commitments to keeping pace with the speed of development.”
The newly-designated Certified Sites feature hundreds of acres ready for industrial development:
• Becker Industrial Park, Becker, Minn. – Adjacent to US Highway 10 with easy access to two additional major highways, Becker Industrial Park consists of 67 acres of contiguous lots zoned for heavy industrial use.
• Duane Michie Industrial Park, Hayti, Mo. – Located one-half mile from the Pemiscot County Port Authority and in close proximity to two Missouri state highways and two interstate highways, Duane Michie Industrial Park has approximately 250 acres available for development.
• Springs Industrial Park, Holly Springs, Miss. – Just north of Highway 22 and about 40 miles southeast of Memphis International Airport, the Springs Industrial Park site has more than 1,200 acres available for development.
• Railplex Industrial Park, Surprise, Ariz. – Surprise’s two-square-mile Railplex is shovel-ready with all major utilities to site including water, sewer, power, rail and telecommunications. The Railplex has attracted over $150 million in capital investment with 292 acres available for development.
• Elion Logistics Park 55, Wilmington, Ill. – Elion Logistics Park 55 is a rail-served, mixed-use industrial park located off BNSF’s Southern Transcon. Up to 12 million square feet of potential rail-served sites are available.
• Lincoln Prairie South, Yorkville, Ill. – Situated at the intersections of State highways 34, 47, 71 and 126 plus access to I-88 to the north, I-80 to the south, and I-55 to the east, the Lincoln Prairie South site is a prime location for development of more than 220 divisible acres.
Certified Sites are a part of BNSF’s Premier Parks, Sites and Transload program. The program is a strategic approach that addresses the increasing demand for customer site locations by developing various types of facilities across BNSF’s network. Businesses looking to locate at any of these properties could save six to nine months of construction time as a result of this analysis.
BNSF Certified Sites are reviewed by an industry expert in order to ensure accurate, reliable data. The goal of the program is to provide an inventory of rail-served sites that are available for immediate development.
© 2019 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.