|
President's Message
 | | David Drach, ARDA President |
Another successful ARDA event concluded last month and we are gearing up for the Annual Meeting set to take place in Calgary, Canada in early June.
For those of you who missed the Executive Forum in St. Paul, we have an article with details about the event below.
In addition to all the industry updates in the right sidebar, make sure to check out this month's feature article contributed by the ARDA Economic Development Committee.
Lastly, don't forget to visit the ARDA website at www.amraildev.com for updates regarding the 2014 Annual Meeting!
|
|
Save the Date: Annual Meeting in Calgary - June 1-4
| | Fairmont Palliser |
Mark you calendars for yet another exciting ARDA event! From June 1-4, 2014, the American Railway Development Association will hold its Annual Meeting at the Fairmont Palliser in Calgary, AB, Canada.
Dig up those passports because you don't want to miss out! The conference will take place at the historic Fairmont Palliser Hotel located in downtown Calgary. The hotel was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) in the early 1900s when the railway was pushing west. While no longer owned by CP, it is still attached to the Canadian Pacific Railway Pavilion, built to preserve and showcase CP's history.
Registration will be available soon, and will be announced via this newsletter.
|
|
|
2014 Executive Forum Recap
On February 11-12, the 2014 Executive Forum was held at the James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul, MN, and a successful evening networking reception took place in the James J. Hill House. The theme for this year's forum was "Navigating the Landmines." As one of America's great railroad builders, James J. Hill provided historical inspiration for these ARDA events.
The conference agenda was packed full of discussions revolving around the theme of change, led by a world class line-up of speakers, including:
* Real Estate Implications of Grade Crossing Closure Programs presented by Mark Holder, Director - Property Management, CSX Transportation, Ray Birkholz, Manager - Asset Development, CSX Real Property and Steven Neubauer, Director Institutional Safety, BNSF Railway
* Issues Related to Utility Crossings on Railroad Rights of Way presented by Madeline Roebke, General Attorney, Union Pacific Railroad; Michael Barron, Attorney, Fletcher & Sippel, LLC; and, Alanna Strohecker, Project Manager, AECOM
* Remediation and Redevelopment of the Pig's Eye Landfill in Minnesota presented by Scott Zurn, Manager of Environmental Remediation, Canadian Pacific Railway
* The Freight Economy in Minnesota presented by Louis Jambois, President, St. Paul Port Authority
* Social Networking Impact and Use by Railroads presented by Tom Bushey, Solution Engineer Manager, ESRI; Stacey Hugo, Manager of Community Outreach, Norfolk Southern; and Eric Powell, Manager of Economic Development, Indiana Rail Road Company
* Rail Development in Western North Dakota: Navigating the Region's Unique Challenges presented by Will Wangerin, Project Manager, Network Strategy - U.S., CP and Kristine Williams, Manager, Real Estate - U.S., CP.
* Southern California International Gateway: Successes and Lessons Learned presented by Lena Kent, Director Public Affairs, BNSF.
Presentations that we have permission to publish can be found on the ARDA website under the past events or you can click here.
|
Economic Development Along the Railroad
Economic Development Committee Feature
Economic and industrial development of rail-served businesses is a process. The process begins with learning what a business's requirements are. The company will have a business plan to implement and will typically have a near-term need for a site. Generally the first choice is an existing facility, but sometimes there is nothing available that meets their requirements. After exhausting the inventory of existing structures, developers will settle on a build-to-suit option.
The next step for a business is choosing among multiple sites in various states of readiness. The potential property sites need to be screened to determine if they are marketable and able to close. Issues to consider when evaluating the readiness of a site include: existing infrastructure and road and rail access, storm water management, zoning, utilities availability and capacity, plats, and engineering requirements.
|
|
Membership & Sponsorship Opportunities
If you have not yet renewed your ARDA membership for 2013-2014, please click here to renew. If you are not already a member of ARDA, please consider joining us!
ARDA is a not-for-profit educational association founded in 1906 to promote the Economic Development, Real Estate Development, Technology, Legal, and Environmental activities of the North American railroads. Becoming a member of ARDA provides you with important and useful benefits, including discounted access to the two ARDA conferences each year, involvement with the ARDA committees, industry updates in our newsletter, and a unique opportunity to network and collaborate with your peers.
Membership in ARDA is only $150 per year.
ARDA Sponsorship
Support ARDA and take advantage of a unique marketing opportunity for your company by becoming an ARDA sponsor. Multiple levels of sponsorship are available, many of which include complimentary ARDA membership for individual employees of the sponsoring company.
For general sponsorship opportunities, click here.
|
|
For more information, visit the ARDA website or contact:
- David Drach, ARDA President, at david_drach@cpr.ca, or
- ARDA staff at amraildev@gmail.com
|
The American Railway Development Association (ARDA) is a not-for-profit educational trade association founded in 1906 to promote Economic Development, Real Estate Development, Technology, and Environmental Activities of the North American Railroads.
The objectives of the Association are to foster the industrial, real estate, natural resources, market development activities and environmental concerns of the North American railroads; and through the advancement of ideas and education of its members, further promote the effectiveness of railway development and related work.
|
|
Thank You ARDA 2013- 2014 Sponsors
PLATINUM:
GOLD:
SILVER:
BRONZE:
|
|
|
|
|
|
SAVE the DATE
2014 Annual Meeting:
Navigating the Sea of Opportunity
Finding Opportunities and Evaluating Potential
What: ARDA Annual Meeting
When: June 1-4, 2014
Where: Fairmont Palliser Hotel, Calgary, Alberta, Canada*
Who: All professionals in the rail industry
Why: To network with peers and gain knowledge.
*Remember: Entry into Canada requires a valid passport!
|
|
New ARDA Members
It is with great pleasure that ARDA acknowledges and thanks the following individuals for their new membership in the Association:
Spencer Cronin, EMR, Inc.
Veronica Fields, Finger Lakes Railway Corp.
Matthew Gedney, Gulf & Ohio Railways, Inc.
Matthew Lannon, Omega Rail Management
Jarrett Mankin, Railway Auditing & Management
Andy Volmer, NS
|
|
ARDA Job Board
As a new ARDA initiative, the organization will give members the opportunity to post job openings at their companies in this newsletter and on our website.
Only jobs within the economic development, real estate development, technology, legal, and environmental segments of the railroad industry should be posted.
ARDA will approve each listing prior to publication.
Postings can be submitted to: amraildev@gmail.com
|
|
