Nearly 200 Jobs to be Created Through Proposed Rail Spur Construction

Nearly 200 Jobs to be Created Through Proposed Rail Spur Construction

by James Coulter

More than 200 jobs, with an estimated average wage of $65,000, could be created if the City of Winter Haven approves the grant application for the construction of a proposed rail spur.

 At their regular meeting on Mon. Dec. 9, Winter Haven city commissioners voted unanimously to approve the first reading of an ordinance authorizing a grant application to the Florida Department of Commerce (FDC) for construction of a rail spur.

 The total requested amount for the Job Growth Grant is $1,500,000, with the city expected to provide “in-kind” services in the form of grant/project management estimated at a value of $100,000.

 The proposed rail spur will connect the Winter Haven CSX Intermodal Terminal to Project Ray’s proposed 41-acre site within the Intermodal Logistics Park. As the city memo explains, the spur will “traverse across property owned by Evansville Western Railway, Inc. to the proposed Project Ray property.”

 This project, which is projected to cost approximately, will be carried out by the City of Winter Haven $3,000,000, in cooperation with the Winter Haven Economic Development Council, Tratt Properties, and Project Ray. As the memo states: “Upon completion, the estimated ad valorem taxable value of the project is anticipated to be between $75 and $85 Million.”

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