09-09-2025 JDA Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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6 The JDA is working toward U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Communities certification for the project, with the goal of achieving Platinum certification. This globally recognized standard establishes benchmarks for energy efficiency and sustainability. Achieving this certification will guide the project in meeting its ambitious energy and environmental goals while ensuring accountability through independent third-party verification. In January 2025, the JDA approved Sustainability Design Guidelines that will help shape the development of the full Rice Creek Commons site. The guidelines include several actionable standards that will further the site’s green energy vision and are based on a comprehensive analysis conducted in 2024 by renewable energy consultant Ever-Green Energy and architecture and engineering firm LHB. A community energy system has long been envisioned for the site. Through a grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce awarded in April 2025, the JDA is currently working with project partners to continue to study the feasibility of a ground-source district energy system to serve the central portion of the site. Environmental History, Remediation and Current Status In 1983, the TCAAP property was placed on the federal and Minnesota Superfund lists. In 2013, Ramsey County acquired the 427-acre property now known as Rice Creek Commons from the U.S. Government. Demolition and site remediation occurred on the 427-acre TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons property, cleaning the soil to residential standards, as defined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA). In 2016, the MPCA issued a Certificate of Completion of Response Actions for soil remediation. In 2019, the 427-acre TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons property soil and surface water was delisted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) from the federal National Priority List (“federal Superfund”). In 2020, the MPCA also delisted the 427-acre TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons property from the state Permanent List of Priorities (“state Superfund”). As result of the above actions, the site was given unrestricted land use status and is ready to be developed. As development of the site proceeds, Ramsey County continues to partner with the Army, EPA, and MPCA to ensure the Army’s ongoing environmental obligations to treat deep groundwater contamination is met. More information about cleanup activities and environmental history can be found via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) websites.