I’m not sure what their intentions are, but I’ve been renting for about 6months in the railway district.  Earlier this month I was approached by our rental agency and asked to find another place to live.  Our house is being sold to BNSF and we are having to move.  I think BNSF should have some explanation for why they want to buy out whole neighborhoods.  There are great new condos and comercial buildings in that area that could help build the district but this is going to have the reverse effect.

The upside is, we’ll get some needed real estate activity.

Good neighbor? The very last thing the railroad is, is a good neighbor!

The railroad is getting nailed for some substantial liabilities in Livingston and Havre. If fancy condos go up on that ground and then DEQ or the courts order “remediation,” the sky is the limit when there is “deep-pocket syndrome” around.
Never mind that when word gets out that the railroad is sniffing around, the price goes up….deep pockets again. The company is facing uncertainty in terms of future liabilities and is trying to reduce risk.
If people sell at a fair price, there will be no need to lawyer up. But it seems that we are getting ready for a gouge-fest here, and no matter how open the company would have been, it probably would have been setting itself up for a gougefest.

The term, “mutually beneficial” just isn’t heard anymore. The railroad and the landowners will immediately take up positions of extreme. Then the lawyers will get an invitation to join the party and it will get out of control. What happened to good neighbors just trying to be right with each other?