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Project Status Memo 2 By TORY COONEY | vcooney@pioneerpress.com December 3, 2016 at 7:50 pm Key votes could mean 2017 start date for Arden Hills TCAAP project For decades, the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant was a barren expanse of derelict buildings and soil steeped in hazardous materials. When the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency formally certified it as clean this summer, the 427-acre site became the biggest blank slate for development in Ramsey County. And a series of key votes beginning this month could mean construction in 2017. To move forward with construction next year — which would focus on infrastructure, including a new road — both the Arden Hills City Council and the Ramsey County Board must approve the developer’s changes to the master plan. SO, WHAT’S THE PLAN? The vision for the site at the junction of Interstate 35W and U.S. 10 — now known as Rice Creek Commons — is to turn the site into a sustainable, walkable community with three distinct neighborhoods, thousands of new jobs, retail space and a network of parks and trails. Once fully built out over the next 10 to 15 years, the development is expected to add some 3,000 residents to the St. Paul suburb, now with a population of about 9,500. That vision has already been agreed to by Arden Hills and Ramsey County and captured in the master plan created by a Joint Development Authority made up by the two entities. But the development team, composed of Alatus LLC, Inland Development Partners and Tradition Development Corp., has made changes to that plan, which must be approved by the city and county before the project can progress. HOW DOES THE DEVELOPER’S PLAN GET APPROVED? The first step is a Dec. 7 public hearing before the Arden Hills planning commission. The planning commission is expected to vote on a recommendation that will be forwarded to the city council. The commission could decide on a series of suggestions, or vote for or against the plan, though the project has “so many pieces,” Arden Hills mayor David Grant said he couldn’t predict what form the panel’s recommendation would take. Whatever the commission sends will shape the city council’s vote — likely to take place during either its regular meeting on Dec. 12 or a special meeting scheduled for Dec. 19, Grant said. If the developer’s plan gets council approval, then it will go to the county for a vote. If it doesn’t, then it will undergo another revision, Arden Hills council member Brenda Holden said.