Questions have been swirling for years surrounding BNSF’s massive proposed rail complex in metro Phoenix. The Texas rail giant is finally pulling back the curtain on its grand plans.The project, to be called Logistics Park Phoenix, will represent a $3.2 billion investment for an intermodal — a facility that transports freight between train and truck — and a logistics hub across 4,300 acres in the northwest part of the Valley. Intermodals can decrease expenses, improve freight transportation between major markets and take hundreds of trucks off the road.“We’ve been looking at this area for some time,” Juan Acosta, assistant vice president of public affairs at BNSF, told the Business Journal. “Phoenix has grown exponentially, certainly in the last decade or so and along with that growth has come really a demand from customers for more rail capacity in Arizona from us.”In addition to intermodal services, the complex will bring 18 million square feet of new warehouse space and 1,100 acres of rail-served land to metro Phoenix, one of the hottest manufacturing markets in the nation. If built, the project could further increase the Valley’s competitiveness to attract the hundreds of companies that are currently looking for space in the region.expandBNSF has unveiled the proposed layout of its regional rail intermodal complex and logistic center across 4,300 acres in metro Phoenix.BNSFNearby residents have strongly opposed the project and its potential adverse impacts to their homes and the surrounding desert landscape, while municipal leaders have recognized the impact a project of this magnitude will have on the area’s already stressed infrastructure and resources.For example, more properties on the outlying edges of metro Phoenix are being envisioned for industrial uses moving forward as homebuilders face more difficulty securing 100-year water certificates in those areas following the state’s new groundwater rules.What’s more, a 2,100-acre site that was once slated for 10,000 homes is now proposed to become a data center complex in Buckeye. Denver-based Tract acquired the site for $136 million with plans to build the infrastructure to support a campus with 20 million square feet in data center facilities and up to 1.8 gigawatts of power.Meanwhile, BNSF has unveiled new details about the project and its proposed economic benefits as it inches closer to a construction start date in 2025 and pushes to get it across the finish line. A key pivot came when the company chose to work through permitting in Maricopa County instead of the city of Surprise, potentially avoiding having to annex its property into the West Valley municipality.At stake is an estimated $245 million in annual tax revenue for Arizona, Maricopa County, schools and other local districts. At buildout, the project is expected to see $7.2 billion in total economic activity annually and create tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. BNSF currently employs about 1,550 people and covers about 592 route miles of rail across Arizona.As the next step in the approval process for a comprehensive plan amendment in Maricopa County, BNSF will host a neighborhood meeting at 6 p.m. on Sept. 4 at Nadaburg Elementary School in Wittmann, when residents can ask questions about BNSF’s plans.A critical planning and zoning vote on the plan amendment has been set for Nov. 7 followed by a Board of Supervisors vote on Dec. 11. A separate zoning application for the property will also move forward in Maricopa County but meeting dates have not been scheduled.Why BNSF switched course to Maricopa CountyThe city of Surprise gave BNSF the approvals it needed in early 2023 for a general plan amendment with the expectation that the company would then apply to annex and rezone its massive project within city limits.But a year after no apparent movement on those plans, the company submitted an application in May 2024 for zoning changes to Maricopa County instead, saying it was “the most sensible approach.”The decision to pull the plug with the city ultimately boiled down to the company deciding that the annexation process with Surprise, not to mention the time required to secure water resources through the city, would have jeopardized BNSF’s timeline to be operational by 2028.”Given the regional importance of the project, BNSF is committed to working with Maricopa County, the city of Surprise and community stakeholders regarding joint issues as the project moves forward,” the company said.BNSF plans to use water rights it acquired to provide resources for its project. A BNSF subsidiary paid $17.7 million in June for 1,660 acre-feet, or 541 million gallons, of groundwater rights — though it’s unclear how exactly the company intends to use those rights. On a portion of its property, BNSF plans to develop on-site water and wastewater treatment facilities as the complex is built out.In one of its most recent meetings for the project, Maricopa County officials requested further analysis of potential impacts to traffic, the environment and infrastructure, including an explanation for why it cannot be annexed into the city of Surprise, all of which BNSF is currently working through and is expected to address as it moves through the zoning process.What the project means for ArizonaBNSF has anticipated for a while that it would need to expand its services in metro Phoenix, especially as its two existing intermodal hubs in Glendale and Phoenix move closer to capacity.“Current facilities have sufficient capacity, but with projected growth additional capacity will be needed,” Acosta said. ” I don’t know when they will exhaust their capacity, but they will, and when they do, that growth, particularly at the Glendale facility — that type of growth, intermodal growth, trailer and containers — is going to go somewhere into the Phoenix area. We certainly want a facility there that can handle the growth beyond what Glendale can handle.”Metro Phoenix has surpassed 400 million square feet of total existing industrial space and is No. 1 for industrial space under construction in the U.S. because of its population growth and proximity to California, along with a resurgence in manufacturing.expandBNSF operates an intermodal rail terminal in Alliance, Texas in the larger Dallas-Fort Worth region, one of the largest industrial markets in the U.S.HillwoodThe freight giant first acquired a large site along Grand Avenue in anticipation of that growth in the 2000s but didn’t have serious plans to build more rail capacity until four years ago, when it acquired 3,500 additional acres of state trust land in the Wittmann area and started the process to expand its footprint.BNSF has anchored some of its intermodal facilities with logistics parks and more in other major industrial markets, including in Alliance, Texas, Chicago and Kansas City.The newly named Logistics Park Phoenix is BNSF’s next major intermodal hub that’s packaged with a logistics park, but it will also include a third element — a logistics center with rail-served sites and the infrastructure needed to attract employers that want to build their own facility such as manufacturers.A timeline for full buildout of the project will depend on customer demand for capacity but is estimated to occur within 10 years of opening.BNSF considered multiple proposals for potential developers to work with on Logistics Park Phoenix but ultimately selected a partnership with a company it has worked with, Missouri-based The Kroenke Group, and Chicago-based CRG, a prominent Valley developer.It’s also currently working through a selection process for general contractors for the project but has not finalized its decision.
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