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says Williams. “It depends on how <br />those potential end users hear <br />about us.” <br />rice creek commons readies <br />for development <br />Rice Creek Commons had been part <br />of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition <br />Plant (TCAAP) and Arden Hills Army <br />Training Site, which spanned over 2,300 <br />acres. The ammunition plant closed in <br />1976, and several years later the land was <br />declared a Superfund site. <br />Ramsey County bought 427 acres <br />of TCAAP in 2012, established the <br />Joint Development Authority with <br />Arden Hills, and hired contractors <br />to remediate the land to residential <br />standards. Rice Creek Commons’s <br />surrounding neighborhood is much <br />less densely populated than that <br />surrounding The Heights, an advantage <br />that gives Rice Creek almost four times <br />more land for development than The <br />Heights. The plan calls <br />for a $1 billion buildout of five <br />neighborhoods including a mixed- <br />use town center, three residential <br />communities, and a commercial area. <br />Arden Hills Council Member <br />Tena Monson, who is also a Joint <br />Development Authority board member, <br />says the goal of carbon neutrality comes <br />with some trepidation. The project’s <br />developer, Alatus, has experience <br />building sustainable housing, and the <br />project will naturally attract other <br />developers with experience in electric <br />heating and cooling. Still, net zero is a <br />relatively new concept, and a process <br />for waivers exists if a developer cannot <br />do all-electric buildings. “We know <br />we’re pushing the envelope there, <br />and we’re asking people to really do <br />something different,” says Monson. <br />“We want to be ambitious. We want to <br />see how far we can go.” <br />How Rice Creek Commons <br />will be heated and cooled remains <br />an open question, but geothermal <br />will likely play a significant role, with <br />Ever-Green Energy and LHB assigned <br />to study potential avenues for clean <br />district energy at Rice Creek. Their <br />report suggests an approach that <br />combines high-performance, all- <br />electric buildings that perform <br />50 percent better than code with <br />district energy approaches and efficient <br />HVAC solutions such as heat pumps. <br />Compared to a “business as usual” <br />development, Rice Creek Commons’s <br />energy vision would reduce <br />greenhouse gases by 80 percent, with <br />the remainder made up by onsite <br />solar and the purchase of carbon-free <br />electricity through Xcel’s Renewable <br />Connect program. <br />Monson, who works for a solar <br />company, says ground-mount and <br />rooftop photovoltaics will be part of <br />the buildout of Rice Creek Commons, <br />and highly efficient solar- and EV-ready <br />homes will be standard. Multifamily <br />developments must have accessible <br />charging stations, and developers <br />must consider embodied carbon in <br />their projects. <br />CARBON NEUTRALITY <br />continued from page 41 <br />992025 | ENTER MAGAZINE982025 | ENTER MAGAZINE