(The following story by Cindy Wojdyla Cain appeared on the Joliet, Ill., Herald News website on July 28.)
WILMINGTON TOWNSHIP, Ill. — Joseph Tryner bought a farm tucked in a remote corner of Will County years ago.
It was so remote, he never dreamed it would be a much sought-after parcel several decades later.
Through the years, Tryner’s cousins or others grew corn and soybeans on the land.
About four or five months ago, officials from BNSF Railway, formerly Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, approached the 71-year-old attorney about his 145 acres at Cooper and Murphy roads.
“They said they wanted to buy it and I said, ‘Fine, we’ll talk.’ And we worked it out.”
Tryner’s land was about 11⁄2 miles west of Interstate 55 and 11⁄2 miles south of Lorenzo Road, near, but not contiguous to, the BNSF tracks.
Another 77 acres owned by T. Deane Hynd in the same area also were targeted by BNSF.
Both men sold their land earlier this month to the railway.
Documents filed with the Will County recorder of deeds office show BNSF paid about $40,000 an acre for Tryner’s 145 acres and Hynd’s 77 acres for total prices of about $5.8 million and $3.1 million, respectively.
Tryner said he’s surprised by the sudden interest in his land.
“I didn’t consider that to be a piece that was going to be developed,” he said. “It was strictly a piece of farmland.”
Countywide phenomenon
The Wilmington Township land deals are an example of what’s happening all over the county, said Mark Schneidewind, manager of the Will County Farm Bureau.
Will County, one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation, has about 280,000 acres of farmland left, he said, 75,000 acres fewer than 20 years ago.
The number of farms in Will County is shrinking, too, from 1,381 in 1983 to 910 in 2003.
“Everybody is moving into this area because we’ve got a lot of land left for development,” he said.
Some farmers are cashing out and using the proceeds from their land sales for retirement. Others are plowing the money back into farmland further south or west in Livingston, Ford, LaSalle or Bureau counties, he said.
In the 16 years Schneidewind has worked at the farm bureau, he said prices per acre of farmland have increased from between $7,000 and $10,000 an acre to between $35,000 and $100,000 an acre, depending on location and proximity to major roads.
Industrial park possible
Tryner said he’s not sure what BNSF has planned for his former farm.
“I assume the railroad wants it for their railroad business,” he speculated.
Will County Engineer Sheldon Latz said the county has received preliminary plans from BNSF for development near I-55 and Lorenzo Road.
The plans call for a proposed industrial park with possibly 10 million to 25 million square feet of warehouse space, Latz said. Land for development in the area also is being purchased by Ridge Realty, he added.
The industrial park could be built west of I-55 and north of Murphy Road, Latz said.
Latz said Wilmington hopes to annex the site, but the land is not yet contiguous to the municipality. John McIntyre, Wilmington’s city administrator, confirmed that the city is interested in the project.
“We’re looking for industry and types of businesses that create decent-paying jobs,” he said.
One development BNSF officials said they were interested in was a maintenance facility for railroad cars, he said.
Some residents have been concerned, wondering what they should do as BNSF looks at land in the area.
“A few of them have said, ‘Should we try to hold onto our homes and try to live in the area, or should we try to sell our homes for commercial-industrial development?'” McIntyre said.
BNSF’s plans
Steve Forsberg, a spokesman for BNSF, said residents of the area are no different than others who live in areas ripe for development.
“Anybody who lives near an interstate, a major railroad or an airport would have those same questions,” he said.
BNSF officials told Latz that they would like to break ground on the project this year if possible.
Forsberg said the company is pursuing land in the area for “industrial prospects considering locations in Illinois, including the Chicago area.”
He would not release any other details.
“We’re still bound by confidentiality not to discuss any potential plans because they’re not firm yet,” Forsberg said.
There are no guarantees an industrial development will locate on the site, he said. But the company is protecting itself so no one else develops the land.
Forsberg also said he wasn’t sure the exact boundaries of possible future land acquisitions.
Richard Kavanagh, a Joliet attorney representing Ridge Realty, said no development details can be released yet. But he was more optimistic than Forsberg.
“Sometime soon, I would think there would be some kind of announcement,” Kavanagh said. “Hopefully, it’s something that is a good project and will help the county in that area.”
Latz said Ridge Realty was invited to give an explanation of its plans at a future county board public works committee meeting. County officials have concerns about what kind of traffic would be generated by the project for Lorenzo Road and the interstate exit.
As for Tryner, he continues to show up for work at his Wilmington law office and isn’t sure what he’ll do next.