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Project Status Memo 6 <br />Star Tribune <br />Arden Hills nervous over urban-style plan for former Army site <br />Plan for former Army site in Arden Hills has much higher density than officials wanted. <br />By David Peterson Star Tribune <br />August 22, 2016 — 11:11pm <br />The developer chosen to oversee the creation of a new megaproject on the abandoned 400-acre <br />Army ammunition site in Arden Hills is seeking to make it far more urban than the city has <br />planned. <br />Minneapolis-based development firm Alatus LLC envisions 250 fewer single-family homes than <br />are called for in the city's master plan — and as many as 795 more apartments and condos. <br /> <br />"You realize you've bypassed Minneapolis and St. Paul at this point for overall density," Mayor <br />David Grant told senior members of the development team on Monday night. <br />Alatus chief Bob Lux responded that the quest is for vitality. "A place where the streets aren't <br />empty, but have people on them," he added. "I know there are challenges with density; but there <br />are also benefits." <br />During the first informal workshop between the two sides last week, it emerged that Alatus <br />wants to build multifamily structures as tall as 12 stories — an idea that drew pained reactions <br />from some council members. <br />"If I buy a million dollar house on the hill," said Council Member Brenda Holden, "I end up <br />looking at skyscrapers. They want to see green." <br />"We're not downtown," said Council Member Fran Holmes, adding that she worries about the <br />site coping with traffic from that many people. <br />The other partner in the project, Ramsey County, which bought the land, long has warned that <br />greater density would be needed and even desirable, both to allow the developer to make money <br />and to create enough activity on the site to justify mass-transit investments. <br />Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega last winter predicted that "the tiebreaker will be to <br />put this before the development community, at which point both of us — city and county — will <br />face the reality of what's doable." <br />Planners hope that the new A Line transitway, offering frequent, light rail-like bus service, can <br />be extended north past Roseville's Rosedale Center into Arden Hills. The odds for that improve <br />when the number of potential riders grows. <br />Monday night's session led to a consensus that council members should go on a tour to see what <br />the proposed building products look like close up. .