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Page 3 of 21 leader staff in the Twin Cities. The strength of the Consultant Team will be a key element in the evaluation of proposals. II. Background Information A. Site Description. TCAAP is located in the northern part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area, within the City of Arden Hills. The original TCAAP was a 2,370-acre site located in Arden Hills that was used for the production of conventional ammunition and weapons components. Weapons manufacturing at TCAAP was primarily conducted from 1941 to 1976. Limited production of special munitions continued in some areas until 2005. The property is bordered by County Road I to the north, Lexington Avenue to the east, Highway 96 to the South, and Highway 10 and Interstate 35W to the west. A portion of Rice Creek runs through the property to the northwest. Ramsey County owns the land bordering the Creek and has incorporated it into their regional park plan. The area around TCAAP is comprised of lightly rolling to hilly urban land with numerous kettle lakes. The predominant topographic feature of the area is the Arsenal Kame, a hill of glacially deposited sands, silts, and gravel, near the center of TCAAP (but not on the 427 acres which are the subject of this RFP) which is the highest point in Ramsey County. The eastern half of TCAAP slopes to the east, with drainage flowing into Sunfish Lake and Marsden Lake. Drainage from most of the area of the Proposed Action flows to Rice Creek, which runs through the western portion of the TCAAP. The southwestern corner of the site slopes to the southwest, with drainage flowing into Round Lake. In the past 20 years, several portions of the TCAAP site have been declared as excess property and transferred to other government entities. Approximately 1,500 acres in the eastern part of the site, now known as the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) is used by the Minnesota National Guard for training and administration. Several smaller parcels have been transferred to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Ramsey County, and the City of Arden Hills. The remaining 585 acres of the site were declared as excess property by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2002. Ramsey County negotiated additional land transfers with the Army and National Guard to place land in passive use as parks and wildlife areas, which reduced the developable area of land to 427 acres. These 427 acres are now considered TCAAP, and constitute the site referred to in the remainder of this document. The site contains over 100 vacant and unoccupied structures and numerous access roads and parking lots. The area surrounding the site is a moderately developed suburban mix of commercial, retail, industrial, and residential buildings. The areas to the northeast, east, and southeast of TCAAP are mostly residential, with some commercial properties located on major roads. The areas to the northwest, west, and southwest contain a mixture of industrial, office, and commercial uses. There are extensive undeveloped areas associated with Rice Creek and several lakes in the vicinity, which are protected from