Credit: DaytonDailyNews
But since then, Northern Suffolk, the railroad company that owns the track, has more than doubled its asking price for the land, according to city officials. The price hike has forced the city to pull back, leaving the project at an indefinite standstill.
“This has been the most frustrating thing I’ve ever dealt with,” said Chris Shaw, a Dayton city commissioner who’s one of the city’s point people on the project. “It’s just one thing after the other.”
‘Flight line’ would connect downtown with trails
Dayton officials call the project “The Flight Line.” They see it as the catalyst for investment that will connect neighborhoods on the city’s east side to a burgeoning downtown entertainment district that within the past decade has become home to a slew of bars, restaurants and apartments.
Bill Weyland, a developer, said his company has invested $30 million in one of the neighborhoods along the railroad track, according to a letter from Weyland the city included in its application for federal funding.
He plans to invest another $90 million into the new “Oregon East” neighborhood — named after the Oregon District, a popular, more longstanding downtown entertainment district — but only if the track is redeveloped.
“It is vital for the city of Dayton to secure ownership of this railway corridor for this investment to continue,” Weyland wrote.
Takeoff delayed over price haggling
The Flight Line project dates back to 2016, just before Norfolk Southern announced plans to abandon the rail line, according to the Dayton Daily News. It’s a type of “Rails to Trails” effort, where cities or nonprofits convert unused railroads into walking and biking paths — often with agreements to return the land if the railroad ever needs it again. Dayton officials see the Flight Line as a way to link downtown with east side neighborhoods and connect to the city’s 300-mile trail network, a major source of local pride.
For several years, the city has been trading offers with the railroad. In 2018, Dayton offered $1.25 million. Norfolk Southern countered at $2.5 million, according to Dayton officials.
In 2020, the railroad said the property’s value had jumped to $3.5 million, according to the company’s appraiser, the Dayton Daily News reported.
In March 2023, the city offered $1.7 million, just a month before the $1.5 million federal earmark was announced. Shaw told Signal he believed the two sides were close to making a deal around that time.
But in January 2024, Norfolk Southern said it had a new appraisal that put the price at $7.3 million. City officials balked, calling the number unrealistic, given the city’s size and economic conditions.
In a statement to Signal Ohio, Norfolk Southern spokesperson Kassandra Ortiz said its appraisal came from an “independent, qualified and licensed third-party” firm with expertise in valuing railroad corridors.
“It is important to note that differing appraisal prices are common in land purchases and valuing railroad corridors requires different appraisal standards than regular land purchases,” Ortiz said. “In the discussions over the purchase of this railroad corridor, we continue to remain open and accepting to an action that would prove beneficial to both entities.”
Tony Kroeger, a city planning official, said the company shared comparable sales in the neighborhood to support its higher number, which he said were based on sales of nearby undeveloped land and industrial properties.
The city contends the tracks aren’t comparable, since they aren’t suitable for any other purpose.
“I can only speak to what they told us,” Kroeger said, asked why the company thinks the abandoned track has nearly tripled in value in seven years. “And that was this has taken awhile, and sometimes the value of land goes up.”
City says project has stalled
Shaw said he met with company representatives last month but didn’t believe any progress was made. He isn’t sure what the next steps might be.
“It’s just so galling that we keep going through this,” Shaw said. “I let them know, in no uncertain terms, how frustrated I am with this whole process, and that I’m ready to take it to the legislators.”
Shaw said the congressman who helped secure the $1.5 million, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, is also frustrated. A spokesperson for Turner didn’t return a message.
Norfolk Southern has faced frequent criticism from local governments over how it manages its tracks. In Cleveland, the U.S. Coast Guard has recommended $3.84 million in penalties since 2019 over boating delays caused by a company-owned train bridge over the Cuyahoga River near downtown, according to The Plain Dealer / cleveland.com. However, only $52,000 of those penalties have been finalized. Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown and Cleveland officials also have spent years urging the railroad to fix crumbling bridges within the city.
The company’s infamous train derailment in East Palestine in 2023 caused JD Vance, then one of Ohio’s U.S. senators, to pursue new safety legislation with Brown. Vance now is vice president and Brown was defeated in the November election. The bill failed to pass. It was reintroduced in the House in February. One of its sponsors is Republican Rep. Michael Rulli, of the Youngstown area.
Shaw said he has been in touch with the mayor of New Haven, Indiana, which underwent a long, unsuccessful legal battle against Norfolk Southern last decade over blocked crossings on the company’s tracks.
“They’re providing all their data related to that case, because they want to be helpful,” Shaw said.
A view from the tracks
The Norfolk Southern line shows no signs of being tended to.
Walking along the tracks, it’s clear they’ve been abandoned for years. Trees over six feet tall grow between the rails, which are often buried under weeds and overgrowth. Where visible, the rails are rusted, and trash litters the tall grass on both sides. The wooden ties are splintered and rotting. Despite the disuse, railroad crossing signs still stand.
The track’s disrepair has attracted complaints from residents, who in some places have taken it upon themselves to lay mulch to try to discourage weed growth. Shaw said he’s walked the tracks and stepped around discarded hypodermic needles.
City public works employees also have been diverted from their normal jobs to clean up the tracks, last year going there to clear brush and clean out an encampment of people who were sleeping there, according to Kroeger.
“People who are out there paving streets instead are clearing the track,” Kroeger said.
In addition, city officials have documented sections of the track’s bridges that are in poor condition. They also say Norfolk Southern maintains the track better in nearby, more affluent communities, which Shaw said is discriminatory.
Norfolk Southern didn’t respond to a question from Signal about its long-term plans for these tracks — or its plans for better maintaining its property.
Meanwhile, Dayton officials are trying to think of their next steps.
Kroeger said he’s not sure what the city might do next. One option, he said, could be to try to lease the track if the company refuses to sell it, although he said that would be less likely to attract private investment because of the uncertainty over its long-term future. The city also could consider pushing the railroad to improve the condition of its tracks through code enforcement.
“I hope Norfolk and the city of Dayton can move forward in partnership and improve the situation,” Kroeger said. “But until then, I think we need to come up with a better way to fight the blighting conditions we have right now.”
Shaw said he’s also explored trying to take the track through eminent domain. But he doesn’t believe it’s legally viable.
“It’s very difficult to do that with railroads. I mean, I guess that’s why they’re on Monopoly boards,” Shaw said.
Signal Statewide is a nonprofit news organization covering government, education, health, economy and public safety
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