From today's Commercial Appeal
'Greenline' is closer to reality with nonprofit, rail agreement
By Tom Charlier
Monday, August 25, 2008
In a possible first step toward developing a long-sought hiking and biking trail through much of Memphis, a nonprofit group says it has reached a preliminary agreement to acquire part of an idle railroad corridor on behalf of Shelby County.
Under the deal, Memphis Community Connector Inc. will pay CSX Transportation $5 million for rights to a 100-foot-wide strip of land extending from just north of Shelby Farms westward to near the Poplar and Union viaduct. The purchase would take in the western half of a 13.34-mile CSX rail corridor that extends east almost to Houston Levee Road.
Using funds donated by anonymous individuals and foundations, the nonprofit would buy the land and turn it over "straight to the county," said Charles F. Newman, a lawyer for Memphis Community Connector.
Final details must be resolved before a purchase agreement is signed, but many of the terms have been worked out, Newman said. The acquisition would clear the way for the county to begin work on a "greenline" park containing a multi-use trail.
"We've been working on this for over a year. It's been a difficult negotiation," Newman said. "Obviously, we're pleased to have reached this point."
Efforts to contact officials at Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX since late Friday have been unsuccessful.
But county officials, who along with city leaders have been seeking to buy the railroad right-of-way for some five years, hailed the progress.
"This is a significant step forward in connecting our neighborhoods in a way that has not been possible in the past," County Mayor AC Wharton said in a prepared statement.
"This segment is a critical piece in our trail system plan, linking communities in the core city to Shelby Farms and areas beyond."
Andy Cates, founder and board chairman for Memphis Community Connector, called the tentative agreement a "very important milestone" in the development of an amenity that will greatly enhance opportunities local residents have for recreation and fitness activities.
The breakthrough comes two years after city and county officials broke off negotiations with CSX because the railroad had been seeking up to $17.8 million for the entire 13.34-mile corridor.
The acquisition will be made under the Rails-to-Trails provisions of the National Trails Act. It permits the county to construct and operate a trail system on the property while maintaining CSX Transportation's rights as the underlying owner, recognizing the possibility, however slight, that rail service could someday be restored.
Nationwide, some 15,000 miles of Rail-to-Trails projects have been established.
As for a timetable on the final purchase and the beginning of work on the greenline, Newman said, "It's very difficult to predict."
The rail corridor dates back to at least 1916, but by the late-1990s it was used little. In 2003, CSX received federal authorization to discontinue service on the line, and in recent weeks it has been removing the rail and cross-ties.
The line still has not been formally declared abandoned by the federal Surface Transportation Board. But the board has granted the nonprofit, the county and CSX an extension on certain legal deadlines to allow for more time to negotiate details.
Although they eventually want to acquire the eastern half of the corridor as well, officials with the non-profit say they'll first concentrate on completing the purchase and development of the western portion.
-- Tom Charlier: 529-2572
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