Development group closing in on land for rail/industrial park
A former gravel mining pit along Whitefish Stage Road is seen in 2011. (Daily Inter Lake)
Efforts to develop a rail-served industrial park for Flathead County are gaining steam, with the Flathead County Economic Development Authority negotiating to purchase a gravel pit owned by Knife River Corp.
The 40-acre property sits between Whitefish Stage Road and a spur of the railroad line that runs into Kalispell.
“It’s something that FCEDA has had a vision of for several years,” said Kellie Danielson, the organization’s executive director.
“The goal in all this is trying to create shovel-ready sites for companies that will create jobs for the residents of Flathead County.”
As required by Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Knife River is working to reclaim and remediate the gravel pit, which formerly was owned by McElroy & Wilken.
As part of that process, the property will be leveled and seeded and some minor diesel fuel spills will be cleaned up, Danielson said.
“The owner is undergoing the reclamation and remediation work,” Danielson said. “When that is completed, we anticipate by the end of the year, then FCEDA is really serious about acquiring the property.”
Flathead County Economic Development Authority has been working for about two years to acquire land to develop the rail-served industrial park using a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Previous efforts to acquire property outside Columbia Falls fell apart.
The Knife River property sits next to a contaminated BNSF Railway property that has been designated a state Superfund site, making industrial redevelopment the most appropriate use for the property, Danielson said.
“The state has said [the Burlington Northern property] can never be used for residential development, so that area is always going to be industrial in your and my lifetime,” she said.
Assuming the purchase goes through as planned, the development authority would work with an engineer to design and lay out the bare-ground property and extend rail and utilities to it. Meanwhile, a search for tenants would begin.
Development of the property into a shovel-ready industrial park with rail access is expected to take about 18 months.
“We already have an idea of what our target industries are. We would market it to companies like value-added wood product companies and metal manufacturers,” Danielson said.
Several companies have expressed some interest in the industrial park development, but there are no serious prospects yet.
“We haven’t spent the dollars on marketing it yet, because we haven’t acquired it yet. Once it’s acquired and we have a development plan, then we will fund the marketing,” Danielson said.
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.