The proposed 427-acre redevelopment at the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant in Ramsey County’s Arden Hills, with the name Rice Creek Commons, is to include retail, office and light industrial projects as well as housing. There is hope the development will help grow the county’s tax base and draw thousands of new residents to the area.
For the better part of 70 years, the area was owned by the U.S. government. Small-arms munitions were manufactured and tested there during World War II as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars. The site was largely de-commissioned in the 1980s.
For more than a decade, efforts at development at the site have either failed, as with the Vikings stadium plan, or been slow to advance, as with the Rice Creek Commons vision.
Here’s a rundown of recent events connected with the development effort:
• 2011 Ramsey County and Arden Hills work with the Minnesota Vikings who consider TCAAP as a potential stadium site. The Minnesota Legislature ultimately chooses a site in Minneapolis.
• 2013: Ramsey County buys the TCAAP site and begins funding the cleanup, spending $28.5 million.
• 2014: The development is named Rice Creek Commons.
• 2016: The site receives a certificate of completion from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency signaling it’s off the state’s Superfund site list and ready for development. Alatus, LLC is chosen as developer for the site.
• 2019: Ramsey County sues Arden Hills in an effort to break the partnership they entered into in 2012. The dispute involves disagreements over housing density at the site.
2021: A Ramsey County judge declines to dissolve the contract between Ramsey County and Arden Hills, saying the matter must be resolved through the political process.
• 2022: In a municipal election voters send several candidates open to ending the impasse with Ramsey County to the Arden Hills City Council.
• 2023: Ramsey County rejects the development plan — agreed to by Alatus and Arden Hills — for the site citing a lack of housing density.
• 2024: Arden Hills and Ramsey County begin meeting again on development plans for the site and additional housing is considered. The Ramsey County Board approves sale of 40-acre Rice Creek Commons parcel to be handled by developer Ryan Cos.
• 2025: The board overseeing the development parts ways with Alatus citing slow progress on the project. Alatus files a lawsuit contesting the move.
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