BNSF Railway Company has purchased a 3,508-acre site in Wittmann that could become the site of a long-planned Western Hub for the freight company.
BNSF was the sole bidder in an Arizona State Land Department auction and procured the site for the minimum bid of $49.11M. The company applied for the auction last year and got approval in January.
Plans have been circulating since at least 2007 for BNSF to build an intermodal shipping facility and rail hub in the area, functionally creating an inland port similar to ones found in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago areas. The general plan under discussion consists of a logistics park in the north section, an intermodal facility to the southeast and a logistics center in the middle. Industrial warehouse development is also included.
Some Wittmann residents have opposed the plan to develop in the area since 2007, and more than 30 current residents opposed the auction this week citing concerns about increased traffic, infrastructure impacts and potential harm to the environment. Others said the minimum bid price was too low.
ASLD rejected the auction complaints on procedural grounds.
With the auction now concluded, construction could begin as early as 2025 and open in 2028. BNSF has said it is too early in the process to disclose exactly what will be built. Any development will have to secure a rezoning and general plan amendment from the City of Surprise and a rezoning from Maricopa County. (Source)
