Rail corridor sale nears close after environmental review

A $60 million Seminole Gulf Railway corridor sale is expected to close in January after a lengthy due diligence process, including an environmental study, concluded successfully.

The family-owned rail operator reached a revised agreement in February to sell the corridor for $60 million.

The sale is expected to close after the Estero Village Council reviewed the results of the two-phase study Oct. 28, following approval from Bonita Springs and Collier County officials.

The study represented the last step in the due diligence process, which also included an examination of the title and a land survey.

Estero Council voted unanimously to authorize staff to proceed with the closing, which is expected by Jan. 14.

“This is the final step in the process to acquire the Bonita Estero Rail Trail,” Village Manager Steve Sarkozy said. “The project has been in discussion and active negotiation for well over three years now. It’s been a long process, but this is the final step.”

In the coming years, officials plan to convert the corridor into the multiuse Bonita Estero Rail Trail, or BERT, and connect it to larger regional trail systems.

The environmental study, conducted by S&S Environmental Consultants, tested 180 soil samples at 60 locations along the 11.4-mile corridor.

Soil was tested for arsenic, lead, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons.

The study found elevated levels of arsenic and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons at several locations across the corridor in Estero, Bonita Springs and Collier County.

Environmental experts said the concentrations are consistent with those found along other rail-to-trail conversion sites, beside roadways, at commercial developments in cities and in agricultural areas.

“You see these [concentrations] all the time,” said Guri Zeigerman of Apex Companies, a firm hired by the Village of Estero to independently review S&S’s findings. “The levels in these concentrations are very typical and things that are pretty easily managed through engineering controls.”

The environmental study used industry-standard soil testing to search for contaminants that could exist because of the land’s use as an industrial rail corridor for close to 100 years, beginning in the 1920s, said Richard Stephens, partner and principal scientist for S&S.

Stephens presented the findings at the Oct. 28 Village Council meeting. The study found arsenic levels exceeded study limits along the rail line north of Corkscrew Road and just east of Coconut Point Mall.

Stephens said the levels are similar to concentrations found at other rail-to-trail conversion sites in the U.S., including the Legacy Trail in Sarasota, a project that has often been compared to BERT.

He added that arsenic may occur naturally in concentrations that can exceed regulatory standards and has been widely used as an herbicide in the agricultural industry.

The arsenic found along the BERT corridor may be managed through solutions used for Sarasota’s Legacy Trail, including capping trailheads with concrete and blending contaminated soil along the trail’s shoulder with clean soil.

The techniques are also often used when redeveloping commercial properties in cities, Stephens added.

“This is something that has been done a lot in the state of Florida and throughout the United States,” he said.

The studies have also been submitted to state agencies, which may provide their own recommendations.

“I for one just want to say that I feel very comfortable with the report…” Estero Vice Mayor George Zalucki said.

Mayor Joanne Ribble agreed.

“I too feel comfortable that we can successfully convert this rail into a beautiful trail line,” she said.

Council member Jon McLain, the Estero Council’s liaison for sale negotiations, expressed relief about the decision.

Asked if he would like to say a few words about the vote, McLain said, “Phew. It’s been a long journey. Maybe that’s not a word but it’s sure an emotion. And this is, I think, monumental.”

McLain and other supporters have championed BERT as an economic boon and amenity for area residents.

“…[BERT] is going to be meaningful to all of our citizens that will use this, both from a health standpoint, from a safety standpoint [and] getting people off the roads as our population continues to grow,” he said.