POCATELLO, Idaho — A Pocatello developer says numerous jobs could be created if a deal were struck with Union Pacific Railroad to redevelop most of the 1,400 acres the company owns in the area, the Associated Press reported.
Developer Bill Isley said Union Pacific Railroad uses about 200 acres of the 1,400 acres it owns in the city. Isley says the idle property could be turned into a manufacturing and distribution hub.
“The railroad is the biggest landowner in Pocatello and has the best property in Pocatello,” he said. “Redeveloping the Union Pacific area . . . is the best thing we can do for the future of this city.”
Dave Swindell, the city’s chief financial officer, said the railroad is taxed differently than regular property, and the city receives only about $70,000 a year in property taxes from the railroad based on a total valuation of $7.1 million. If the company sold or divested itself of the industrial land it owns, it would be a boost to the tax roll, Swindell said. “How much would depend upon the use and improvement made.”
Isley raised the idea during a roundtable discussion on the local economy Oct. 25.
“It is a good idea and we are in talks with UP about it,” Mayor Roger Chase said. “There are great assets there.”
Union Pacific spokesman John Bromley said the railroad has sold land it owns in several cities for redevelopment.
“They make the profit, we get the jobs and the taxes,” Isley said.