Bemidji City Council Hears Results Of Railroad Corridor Study

Bemidji’s railroad corridor is a hot topic of conversation among many downtown residents and businesses. But when the city of Bemidji purchased the property years ago, no set plans were made for the area, which is why there is a push to develop the underdeveloped land.

Through the services of Port Consulting, a study looked at multiple needs and uses for the site and found that before anything could be done, environmental issues would need to be addressed at a significant cost.

Even if the property is cleaned up, deciding what will be built there was another part of the study. With a growing city, the study showed that housing was in the forefront.

With more work and investments needing to be made by the city, some council members heard echos of the past with land dealings that have proved problematic in the past.

For some, even if the city breaks even with the land deal, having the property cleaned up is more important.

The city voted 6 to 1 to continue with phase two of the study to get solid numbers on costs for cleaning up the property and further the railroad corridor project.