Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Pick Staubach to Oversee All Real Estate Transactions

Effective Jan. 1, 2001, Ft. Worth-based Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. is assigning its real estate portfolio to The Staubach Co. in Dallas. Staubach will assume responsibility for managing property acquisitions and dispositions and development services, including leasing, permitting and easement deals. The BNSF portfolio includes nearly 100,000 permits and 10,000 active leases in 28 primarily western states and two Canadian provinces.In the past four years, BNSF has generated more than 200 leases per year and more than 300 property sales transactions per year. In the past three years, more than 2,000 permits and related agreements are completed annually. The pact covers a wide variety of near-daily land and structure leases, says a BNSF source. Some land leases are held by businesses that are not necessarily rail users, including rights-of-way agreements. The near-daily transaction traffic ranges from purchases for expansions to accommodate increased rail usage or disposition due to changing demands in rail transportation, the BNSF source told GlobeSt.com.Ka Cotter, president of Staubach Global Services, says the contract to provide a full scope of real estate services “continues to be a strategic focus of our company.