Posts filed under 'CSX - Winter Haven'
Posted: September 20, 2007: 8:59 am
Today’s Bradenton Herald has a front page Business section story regarding the proposed CSX intermodal terminal. It says in part …
Port Manatee officials are excited about a proposed CSX railroad terminal in Winter Haven that would improve the flow of container shipments throughout the state and to other parts of the country.
“It’s one more important tool that we have to market the port,” said Steve Tyndal, Port Manatee’s senior director of trade development and special projects. “If a shipper in Asia knows that a sophisticated intermodal facility like the one proposed for Winter Haven is only an hour away, that means we could more easily sell Port Manatee as a port of entry.”
The projected $100 million facility would off-load containers from trains for placement on trucks headed to distribution centers, said Richard Hood, assistant vice president of CSX Real Property. It will be located on 1,250 acres with two miles of rail frontage, according to Hood, who said it is the first development of its kind east of the Mississippi.
Read the complete story here.
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Posted: September 18, 2007: 8:19 am
The keynote speaker for the 2007 Central Florida Development Council was Lynda Keever, Florida Trend publisher. Keever spoke to the many changes coming about in Florida business and among her comments noted, “the CSX rail facility could be a tremendous opportunity for this area” adding, “it could be the glue that links the region together.” She went on to encourage collaboration both within the county and with our neighbors to the east and west (metro Orlando and Tampa). She noted that addressing the future from a regional perspective is not easy (as most planning has traditionally been done on a local or county basis) but she emphasized that it was her belief that successfully pursuing the future through “regionalism” will be the key to real progress.
The intermodal terminal is planned for 318 acres of land previously used as spray fields for the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant 2. Another 900 acres surrounding the terminal is slated to be developed as a business/industrial park.
The publisher of the state’s premier business publication also cited Publix Supermarkets for their environmental initiatives in going green. Other important Polk successes mentioned included the Lakeside Village shopping and restaurant center in Lakeland and Haines City’s developing medical business park.
Lynda Keever, Publisher
Florida Trend
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Posted: September 12, 2007: 1:58 pm
In January 2006 the City of Winter Haven received a comprehensive report titled “Development of an Integrated Logistics Center in Winter Haven, Florida” which was distributed to elected officials, the media and the Chamber. This report was developed by HDR/HLB Decision Economics, Inc. of Silver Spring, Maryland.
The document has been published to the City of Winter Haven Web site since early 2006 and contains a thorough overview of employment projections, state and local tax revenue models and other valuable information about the impact that an Integrated Logistics Center (ILC) would have on our area.
With recent media reports that new development doesn’t pay its way, that employment figures for the ILC were somehow inflated to mislead, that tax projections are too grandiose . .. you will find this report comes to very different conclusions and it has been available for 18 months. The report is 30 pages long including charts and graphs and it is economic development information worth your time to read.
You can download a copy of this report here.
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Posted: September 5, 2007: 2:07 pm
CSX Corporation today announced the appointment of Ron Morrow as director of Polk County operations, responsible for community relations and liaison with public and private organizations.
A long-time resident of Polk County and most recently executive director of East Polk Committee of 100. Morrow will play a key role in supporting the development of CSX’s proposed intermodal and automotive terminals in Winter Haven.
“We are fortunate to have Ron as part of our Florida team,” said Rick Hood, assistant vice president-CSX real estate sales and operations and project manager for the intermodal and automotive terminals. “He will help us better understand community concerns and lead our efforts to address those concerns. Ron understands the county’s needs and opportunities.”
Morrow said he would focus his experience on ensuring that CSX’s terminal complies with the region’s growth management plans and those needs that will be identified by the pending Development of Regional Impact (DRI) study.
“Polk County is at the crossroads of many great challenges and exciting opportunities,” Morrow said. “In this new role, I look forward to generating economic growth that is consistent with the quality of life that we have in Polk County.”
CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, FL, is one of the leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company’s transportation network spans 21,000 miles with service to twenty-three eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than seventy ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company’s web site, www.csx.com.
Note: Morrow will continue as a volunteer with EPC 100 through the process of recruiting his replacement as well as the organization’s upcoming annual meeting.
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Posted: August 28, 2007: 2:19 pm
Much has been written of late regarding the actual numbers of employees, trucks, trains etc., that will be associated with the CSX intermodal terminal. This blog reported most of the general details on February 21, 2007 and to a great extent that information remains accurate. The following information contains projections as of August 28 and examples for comparison to exisiting industry within the county.
How many employees will be on the CSX site during construction of the intermodal terminal?
- 590 jobs (est) (This number is approximately equal to the size of the staff at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park)
How many employees will work on site when the intermodal terminal is operational?
- 150-200 depending on the number that relocates from existing Orlando/Tampa facilities for automotive and intermodal (This employee number would be among Winter Haven’s mid-sized businesses)
How many trucks will enter and leave the intermodal facility on an average day?
- 750 – 1000 truck trips on the high side (375 – 500 actual trucks) spread out over a 24 hour period. Traffic will be relative to train schedules which, at present, have not been finalized. (This would be about twice as many vehicles as the daily number accessing the Winter Haven Wal-Mart Distribution Center on Lucerne Park Road — and in a far more rural area)
How many trains will arrive at the intermodal terminal on a daily basis?
What is the economic potential for the intermodal facility?
- There is a potential for five million sq. ft. of ancillary development in the future adjacent to the terminal. In addition there will be interest in surrounding development as a result of creating an industrial base – such developers as First Industrial, Liberty Trust, etc. The terminal will provide a high volume lower cost freight transportation solution for a state that will continue to grow into the future.
- By comparison, the Lakeland Economic Development Council Web site notes there are twenty-six million square feet of industrial/warehouse space currently in the Lakeland area.
- The LEDC site also notes that Lakeland has absorbed more than 1 million sq. ft. annually since 1987. That growth rate is twice what is projected for the ILC.
- Current projects under development in the Haines City area will bring more than 2 million sq. ft. of industrial/warehouse space to that city.
How many jobs may be associated with the ancillary development?
- Once the terminal is completed and upon completion of the Development of Regional Impact findings, it is estimated than over the next decade up to 2,000 jobs will be created in the surrounding warehouse, industrial and office complexes. (Roughly equal to the number of State Farm Regional or Winter Haven Hospital employees.)
What types of companies might locate in the area surrounding the intermodal terminal.
- Looking to Alliance, Texas for an example, here is a sampling of the companies that center attracted: County Workforce Board, AT&T, Bell Helicopter, Cardinal Health, Coca-Cola, Daimler Chrysler Services, Ford Motor Company, a branch of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Fidelity Investments, Fortuna Pizza Pasta Subs, General Mills, General Motors, Hampton Inn and Suites, The Home Depot, IHOP, Kraft Foods, Manpower, Motorola, Phillips Electronics, Pitney Bowes, Ryder System, Snooty Pig Cafe, Texas Instruments, a US Customs Office and numerous other offices, retail operations and distribution facilities. The dynamics of the Winter Haven site may attract a different mix but similar results could be reasonably expected.
What about the concerns of the Lakeland community?
- CSX wants to facilitate a solution quickly. The company will be working with FDOT, Federal transportation officials, the Lakeland Chamber, City of Lakeland and Downtown Development Authority in an effort to address noise and flow of pedestrian traffic within the merchant market area.
What about the Sundance residential concerns.
- CSX has stated that bringing closure to the concerns of those residents, particularly adjacent to the track is necessary for a successful project.
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Posted: August 9, 2007: 11:05 am
Among the factors influencing the need for the CSX intermodal facility is the creation of a 61-mile commuter rail line from Poinciana to DeLand. myregion.org reports this is the first large-scale alternative transportation effort in the region. The creation of the commuter line involves moving the operations of the Taft rail yard facility in Orlando to the proposed CSX intermodal facility on what was formerly the wastewater spray fields for Winter Haven’s southernmost wastewater treatment plant.
To quote myregion.org, “Commuter Rail is the first part of an interconnected transportation system that can manage future growth, ease congestion, improve quality of life, enhance safety and mobility of goods and people while generating new economic opportunities for millions of residents, ensuring Central Florida is moving from vision to a reality and closer to becoming a world-class region.”
The “How Shall We Grow” visioning process conducted by myregion involved seven Central Florida counties including Polk. The process involved input from more than 20,000 residents within the seven counties. The initiative will conclude tomorrow with the unveiling of a Shared Growth Vision for Central Florida and we will present links to the findings.
Read the complete Commuter Rail article here
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Posted: July 10, 2007: 3:09 pm
In May 2007, Lakeland officials communicated a number of questions and concerns regarding the impact that the Winter Haven intermodal facility might have on that community and specifically their downtown core. In early June, CSX representatives met with City, Chamber and Downtown representatives to further understand the issues at hand.
CSX Assistant Vice President for Business Unit Services, Rick Hood, has communicated the company’s initial response to these concerns. Each question or potential issue is presented in bold type and the CSX response follows. The document is available here.
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Posted: June 6, 2007: 10:56 am
In a letter dated June 5, 2007, Charles Gauthier, Director of the Division of Community Planning for the Florida Department of Community Affairs communicated the following information to Holland & Knight LLP in Orlando:
“Re: CSX Integrated Logistics Center Terminal
This is to confirm that the Department is prepared to work with you on a Preliminary Development Agreement pursuant to Section 380.06 (8), Florida Statutes for the CSX Integrated Logistics Center Terminal Project. A Preliminary Development Agreement would allow CSX to construct a substantial portion of the overall project prior to the issuance of a Development of Regional Impact Order. If you wish to proceed toward such an agreement we believe it could be completed fairly quickly.”
CSX will pursue this option to allow the Phase I intermodal facility to proceed.
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Posted: May 10, 2007: 2:57 pm
Last October representatives from Winter Haven visited Alliance, Texas for a closer look at the potential impact of the CSX Integrated Logistics Center planned for south Winter Haven. The Alliance facility provides a good look at an ILC and its surrounding area developed from raw land, much as the Winter Haven site will be. There is an interesting slide show and much more information on that ILC here.
On April 27, 2007, Jim DeGennaro of the Central Florida Development Council met with Bruce Bachman and Ben Adams, Jr. of Phoenix Industries in Eloise to discuss their October 2006 visit. He also sought their opinions on the proposed CSX Integrated Logistics Center in Winter Haven. Here are the highlights of that conversation:
• The two logistics management executives (Bachman and Adams) are very positive on both the Alliance and CSX Winter Haven projects.
• They said the primary difference between the two sites is that Ross Perot developed raw land near Ft. Worth and Dallas while CSX has to shoe horn its project on the Winter Haven land and buffer it from existing homes.
• Alliance has a cargo airport adjacent to its rail yards while CSX has the Port of Tampa 60 miles away and access to other Florida ports.
• Adams and Bachman believe the key to success in Alliance was a strong public/private partnership, and the same holds true for the Polk County opportunity.
• A variety of quality growth has mushroomed around the Alliance project in the past seven years, and they see the same possibilities for the CSX Winter Haven project.
Adams and Bachman traveled to Texas for a two-day survey last October to the 17,000-acre master-planned, mixed-use development. Both were immediately impressed with the cleanliness of the operations and that approximately one-half mile away from the rail yards were 4,000 sf homes in the $400,000 range and above, which were built after the advent of the intermodal facilities.
Other new developments to the Alliance site included the Texas Motor Speedway, Cabela’s Sporting Good Store, a pre-school, and numerous retail and industrial facilities. At the airport Fed-X, American Airlines and J C Penney have large operations.
The two executives were also impressed with the fact that there are no stoplights and RR crossings in the entire Alliance development. Traffic flow is steady and is helped by overpasses. They said that for the CSX Winter Haven site to reach the same kind of maturity that new roads, including the proposed Heartland Parkway, would have to be constructed to service the ILC and the surrounding area.
They said that there may be 4,000 truck trailers at the Alliance rail yard at any time but it was not noisy and was clean. They noticed at night that the facility was lit by direct lighting.
The two largest railroad customers at the rail yard in Texas are two trucking companies — J. B. Hunt and Schneider. As many as 600,000 containers a year are moved through the Alliance site. Adams and Bachman said that Homeland Security is huge at Alliance and that there are numerous controls at every entrance (much like the Port of Tampa).
They said an undivided two-lane highway feeds the entire Alliance complex while a four-lane divided highway is planned for the CSX Winter Haven facility.
Adams and Bachman have had numerous and extensive conversations with CSX Transportation officials including Rick Hood, Dan Murphy and Carl Warren. CSX has told them that the new Winter Haven facility will not deal with toxic materials, and that it will not house a power plant or a chemical plant.
They said that the country’s transportation of goods system is moving toward regional carriers, and that intermodal is growing at a 4 to 5% a year clip. They said the CSX Winter Haven project makes great economic sense and that, in their opinion, it has too much forward momentum to stop.
Some basic features and background on Alliance, Texas: Alliance is one of the most modern intermodal facilities in the world. Specifically built for intermodal operations, it was constructed in 1994 as a combination of two separate facilities in Dallas and Fort Worth. The Alliance facility operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with nearly 17 intermodal trains loaded and unloaded every day. Alliance houses a Foreign Trade Zone and is served by an interstate and two state highways.
Update May 29, 2007:Â In a decision released today, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will evaluate both Phase I and Phase II as a single “Development of Regional Impact” (DRI. This process will provide a thorough review of the Intermodal Center with regard to such issues as transportation and environmental impacts of the center.
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Posted: : 2:57 pm
Once the Winter Haven ILC is underway, CSX intends to purchase the surrounding 900+ acres the plans for which will be evaluated by the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) process. The plans call for a combination of warehousing, industrial and office space. Here are a few of the tenants attracted to the Alliance, Texas ILC:
Tenants at Alliance include the county Workforce Board, AT&T, Bell Helicopter, Cardinal Health, Coca-Cola, Daimler Chrysler Services, Ford Motor Company, a branch of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Fidelity Investments, Fortuna Pizza Pasta Subs, General Mills, General Motors, Hampton Inn and Suites, The Home Depot, IHOP, Kraft Foods, Manpower, Motorola, Phillips Electronics, Pitney Bowes, Ryder System, Snooty Pig Café, Texas Instruments, a US Customs Office and numerous other offices, retail operations and distribution facilities.
While the Winter Haven ILC is projected to employ 2,000 people when fully operational, companies like those listed above will, over time, locate facilities employing thousands more, bringing quality jobs and a diversified economic base.
Update May 29, 2007:Â In a decision released today, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will evaluate both Phase I and Phase II as a single “Development of Regional Impact” (DRI. This process will provide a thorough review of the Intermodal Center with regard to such issues as transportation and environmental impacts of the center.
| See other posts filed in: CSX - Winter Haven, Commercial Developments
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