Knowing what they are getting

COEUR d'ALENE - A city of Coeur d'Alene plan to purchase land owned by BNSF Railway Co. in the Spokane River corridor has been postponed until May.

City Attorney Mike Gridley told The Press Monday that the purchase, originally scheduled for completion on March 5, is being delayed while the Department of Environmental Quality completes an analysis of the property. The 20-acre piece of land is a critical part of the city's plan to further develop the corridor - which runs from Riverstone to Huetter Road - into a community centered around the Spokane River.

"There's no harm in delaying it and the railroad is committed to the sale," Gridley said. "Since the city is buying the land and much of it will likely be used by the public, we want to make sure that we know exactly what we are getting and that it's as safe as possible."

The assessment is part of a DEQ program that assists various agencies in handling "brownfields," which are vacant or underutilized properties where redevelopment is complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination. According to Gridley, the DEQ is fully funding what is called a "phase one" assessment of the BNSF property and has administered similar analyses of other former industrial sites.

"But it does take time," Gridley added. "Once we get that completed, if there's any additional work to be done, we will work through that. I don't think anyone anticipates any Silver Valley Superfund kind of thing."

Under the purchasing agreement with BNSF, the city will pay $1,016,273 for the land not in the two Lake City Development Corp. districts. LCDC will pay $1,483,727 for the railroad property that lies in its two districts, and the purchase is now expected to be completed no later than May 28.

In a previous article, Gridley said the land was appraised at $4.3 million and the city was able to negotiate with BNSF to reduce its asking price to $2.5 million.

Gridley added that the delay in acquisition of the property will not impede the city's plans for the corridor because there is still a lot of planning that needs to be done.

"There's properties down there that are just starting to be acquired for development," he said. "So the timing of everything will work out fine."