(The following editorial appeared on The Memphis News website on March 9, 2010.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Piperton-Rossville area of Fayette County will change and the central question is how.
But that’s not the only question to consider as Norfolk Southern works to assemble another $28.5 million in financing for its $112 million intermodal yard.
What kind of community will exist once the rail yard is open and the trucks begin to roll onto and off of U.S. 72?
Some steps have already been taken to mitigate some of the impact of the enormous facility. But no one can realistically say those measures will answer every concern.
And with the Norfolk Southern presence will come warehouses close by, even as the competitive logistics industry in Memphis also benefits from the facility.
All of this will require more infrastructure and more government services in a county whose government until now has been accustomed to delivering services to a rural population – albeit a growing rural population.
The subdivisions that come with that population growth have already changed Fayette County.
William Adair isn’t the only significant landowner there to sell his sizeable holdings.
Like its neighbors to the west in suburban Shelby County, the Piperton and Rossville communities must make a decision about their future.
That begins with a growth plan acknowledging the presence of the 570-acre intermodal terminal. Any plan must avoid the kind of tunnel vision that looks only at the site and no further.
It must protect the water resources that affect the region as well as Fayette County.
Collierville’s decision more than a decade ago to recruit and draw industry such as the FedEx World Tech Center was a controversial and deliberate transformation of a small town.
But there’s a world of difference between the FedEx center and a railroad freight terminal. Collierville also had a history of some industrial development dating back to the factory that made Wonder Horse toys for the nation.
But something should be learned from Collierville’s decision to mix residential with large scale commercial development for a work force destination.
The remaining questions about the Norfolk Southern facility should be answered carefully. They may be more critical to the future of Fayette County than the decision to locate the rail hub in what is now Rossville.