Bonita Springs council OKs steps toward buying 5.8-mile rail corridor, authorizes up to $45 million for referendum planning

The Bonita Springs City Council voted to let staff finalize terms for the Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) offer to buy a rail corridor and to pursue a voter-funded bond to pay for acquisition and initial improvements.

Derek, a city staff member presenting the proposal, told the council the overall TPL purchase price for the entire corridor is $60,000,000 and that Bonita Springs’ 5.8-mile portion is priced at $28,500,000. He asked the council to confirm inspection conditions (survey and title work, environmental Phase I/II), appraisal expectations and authorization to prepare borrowing for a general-obligation bond, using a working figure of $35,000,000 and asking permission to explore options up to $45,000,000 for terms not to exceed 30 years. “An overall purchase price is $60,000,000. The 5.8 mile segment for the city is $28,500,000,” Derek said.

Why it matters: The acquisition would transfer existing leases, licenses and crossing agreements to the city, include deed and land-use restrictions intended to protect the corridor for possible future reactivation of rail service, and place the project in a rail-banked interim-trail status under Surface Transportation Board processes.…