Work on new NS field office is underway
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EAST PALESTINE -- Ever since the Feb. 3 train derailment, Norfolk Southern has pledged to maintain a permanent presence in the village. The railroad took a step forward in August by acquiring the former Brittain Motors building at 428 N. Market St. to establish a Norfolk Southern Field Office. Renovations on that building are currently underway.
"The office will bolster Norfolk Southern functions in the region and create a central location to support residents on an ongoing basis, including housing the family assistance center," Norfolk Southern stated in a press release provided during a tour of the property on Friday. "The office space will also feature a community meeting room to facilitate continuous dialogue with the village for long-term support efforts."
Located at the corner of Market and East Clark streets, the office will be near the planned new regional safety training center and across the street from the historic train depot which Norfolk Southern is renovating and donating to the village. The field office is meant to house and support both community engagement and operational functions.
Norfolk Southern established the family assistance center in the days following the rail disaster at the Abundant Life Church in New Waterford before moving the center to a leased space on Rebecca Street in East Palestine in May. Its eventual location inside the Norfolk Southern Field Office will give the center a permanent residency in the village and offer those seeking support more discretion with private offices.
Meanwhile, the railroad's base for business in the village has been operating from rented space inside the Centenary United Methodist Church. Those offices too will relocate permanently to the field office.
The new office will also give Norfolk Southern a place to conduct business unrelated to the derailment in the village.
Director of Community Affairs at Norfolk Southern Stacey Mansfield, who conducted Friday's tour, said sales teams are expected to work from the office from a "reconfigured floor plan to accommodate the various functions of Norfolk Southern employees and community meetings."
When renovations are complete, the office is expected to complement existing structures on North Market Street with a "brick facade to better match the aesthetic of the downtown district." An artist rendering of the finished exterior of the building closely resembles that of the East Palestine Memorial Public Library.
Norfolk Southern said that over $1 million in building renovations to the field office will be completed by local contractor, J. Herbert. Youngstown, Ohio-based Strollo Architects developed the designs and is expected to be completed in the late first quarter or early second quarter of next year.
selverd@mojonews.com