Tacoma approves Sound Transit railroad sale

By Todd Matthews • January 17, 2014 2:32 pm
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One Sound Transit-owned parcel of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)
One Sound Transit-owned parcel of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

The City of Tacoma agreed Tuesday to sell a stretch of City-owned railroad to Sound Transit for the transportation agency’s operation of Sounder commuter rail service.

For Sound Transit, owning the 1.2-mile rail line, which runs between East D Street and Puyallup Avenue, will allow it to make future infrastructure investments, such as the planned replacement of a trestle between Freighthouse Square and K Street, which is currently scheduled for completion in 2017.

For the City of Tacoma, Sound Transit will pay $4 million for the property, transfer approximately 1.2 acres of property near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street to the City of Tacoma, and spend as much as $200,000 on landscape design and improvements on the transferred property. Sound Transit will also allow Tacoma Rail to continue its freight operations on the rail line.

According to documents prepared by City of Tacoma staff, the rail line was purchased from the Weyerhaeuser Company in 1995 and, beginning in 2003, was used by Sound Transit to operate Sounder rail service between Tacoma’s Freighthouse Square and Seattle’s King Street Station as part of a temporary operating agreement. Two years ago, City of Tacoma and Sound Transit representatives were negotiating a new agreement when they began to discuss the property sale.

Tacoma City Council held a public hearing on the proposed sale last month.

To read the Tacoma Daily Index‘s complete and comprehensive coverage of the Tacoma / Sound Transit railroad sale, click on the following links:

Todd Matthews is editor of the Tacoma Daily Index and recipient of an award for Outstanding Achievement in Media from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation for his work covering historic preservation in Tacoma and Pierce County. He has earned four awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, including third-place honors for his feature article about the University of Washington’s Innocence Project; first-place honors for his feature article about Seattle’s bike messengers; third-place honors for his feature interview with Prison Legal News founder Paul Wright; and second-place honors for his feature article about whistle-blowers in Washington State. His work has also appeared in All About Jazz, City Arts Tacoma, Earshot Jazz, Homeland Security Today, Jazz Steps, Journal of the San Juans, Lynnwood-Mountlake Terrace Enterprise, Prison Legal News, Rain Taxi, Real Change, Seattle Business Monthly, Seattle magazine, Tablet, Washington CEO, Washington Law & Politics, and Washington Free Press. He is a graduate of the University of Washington and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications. His journalism is collected online at wahmee.com.

One Sound Transit-owned parcel of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

One Sound Transit-owned parcel of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

One Sound Transit-owned parcel of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

One Sound Transit-owned parcel of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

Two Sound Transit-owned parcels of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

Two Sound Transit-owned parcels of land near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma that will be transferred to the City of Tacoma as part of a railroad deal between Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma. (PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

A stretch of City-owned railroad between East D Street and Puyallup Avenue and used for Sounder commuter rail service will be sold to Sound Transit. (PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

A stretch of City-owned railroad between East D Street and Puyallup Avenue and used for Sounder commuter rail service will be sold to Sound Transit. (PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

For Sound Transit, owning the rail line will allow the transportation agency to make future infrastructure investments, such as the planned replacement of a trestle. (PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

For Sound Transit, owning the rail line will allow the transportation agency to make future infrastructure investments, such as the planned replacement of a trestle. (PHOTO BY TODD MATTHEWS)

The City of Tacoma will sell a 1.2-mile stretch of City-owned railroad to Sound Transit for the transportation agency's operation of Sounder commuter rail service. In return, Tacoma will receive $4 million and approximately 1.2 acres of property near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma. (IMAGE COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

The City of Tacoma will sell a 1.2-mile stretch of City-owned railroad to Sound Transit for the transportation agency’s operation of Sounder commuter rail service. In return, Tacoma will receive $4 million and approximately 1.2 acres of property near the intersection of Pacific Avenue and South 26th Street in downtown Tacoma. (IMAGE COURTESY CITY OF TACOMA)

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