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The Official City Newsletter for Arden Hills Residents March 2016 Wanted: master developers for Rice Creek CommonsA solicitation for a master developer for Rice Creek Commons (RCC) was released February 1 by the Joint Development Authority (JDA) - a board made up of two Arden Hills City Council members, two Ramsey County Commissioners, and an Arden Hills resident as the Chair. The JDA is respon- sible for the implementation of the former TCAAP site’s master plan for redevelop- ment. Ramsey County purchased the 427-acre site in April 2013 for almost $29 million. Since then, the County has remediated the soil contamination to meet the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s standards for residential uses. Although the County owns the site, the City still has land-use authori- ty. The JDA was formed to give the County a seat at the table for the land-use decisions and to give the City a seat at the table for picking the master developer. The solicitation, marketed nationally, seeks proposals from potential developers who meet certain evaluation criteria such as proven qualifications to accomplish a project of the size and scope of Rice Creek Commons with experience in mixed-use projects, a vision for integrating cohesive design elements, financial capacity, level of commitment, and more. According to Jill Hutmacher, Arden Hills’ Community Development Director, it is unlikely that there will be one developer who has all the skills needed to complete this multi-faceted project. More likely, the JDA will be looking for one master devel- oper who is able to demonstrate partner- ships and examples of work with teams of sub-developers. The deadline for proposals was March 9. A Selection Review Committee—consisting of City and County staff and consultants, as well as a representative from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) — will review all the proposals and forward the ones that meet the submission requirements to the JDA. From there, the JDA will select the master developer. The JDA is only evaluating the experience, expertise, and partnerships of the applicants at this stage. Once the JDA selects a quali- fied developer, the County will negotiate on price. “We don’t expect a multitude of responses (to the solicitation),” said Hutmacher. “This is a complicated project. It’s not just a simple, straightforward transaction.” The TCAAP Master Plan was approved by the City of Arden Hills in July 2015 and by Ramsey County in January 2016. Ac- cording to the plan, Rice Creek Commons will be a cohesive mix of residential and commercial neighborhoods surrounding a town center. The site has approximately 320 acres of developable acreage, of which approximately 50 percent is commercial and 50 percent is residential. The master plan outlines a mixture of commercial and retail properties, three neighborhoods with a wide range of hous- ing types, and an internal network of parks and trails that will connect into the larger regional system. “A successful development will incorpo- rate best practices for integration of the natural environment, transportation/transit, recreation, and energy sustainability for its 3,000 new residents, 4,000 jobs, and the region as a whole,” according to the plan. Any changes to the master plan by the developer will have to be approved by the City Council. by Emma Theis • Solicitation released February 1, 2016 • Pre-proposal conference February 18, 2016, 2 p.m. • Deadline for submission of questions February 19, 2016, 4 p.m. • Responses to questions posted February 26, 2016 • Solicitation responses due March 9, 2016, 2 p.m. • Solicitation Review Committee evaluation and shortlist March 24, 2016 • Deadline for submission of additional information April 8, 2016 • Evaluation, interviews, and recommendation to JDA April 14, 2016 • JDA selects master developer May 2, 2016 • Negotiate terms and conditions of master developer agreement (JDA) TBD • Negotiate terms and conditions of purchase agreement (County) August 2016 • Approval of master developer agreement October 2016 • Approval of purchase agreement (County) December 2016 Rice Creek Commons planning schedule Dates and locations are subject to change.