05 JUNE NL 2022 (PDF) - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Official City Newsletter for Arden Hills Residents June 2022 City and Alatus Agree on Terms for the Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) Project At the May 9, 2022 meeting, the City Council approved an agreement between the City and Alatus for the TCAAP project, otherwise known as Rice Creek Commons. The agreement on Rice Creek Commons is the culmination of months of discussions and planning between City representatives and Alatus. The agreement follows a court ruling in Arden Hills' favor in the litigation that was brought by Ramsey County against the City. The terms significantly reduce risk to the City and will be incorporated into a future Master Development Agreement (MDA). Highlights of the agreement include risk reduction for the City, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for parking, and affordable housing on the site. One of Council’s longstanding goals with this project is to avoid burdening, or putting at risk, current residents. This agreement mitigates the risk to existing residents by having Alatus privately finance major infrastructure pieces of the project to include the construction of a water tower (estimated at $5 million), and water and sewer utilities (estimated at $3.5 million), and other necessary improvements. This financing structure alleviates the City and its residents of a debt burden should the project stall due to unforeseen circumstances. Alatus has also agreed to fund City deficits on the project during the first five years should revenues not be sufficient to cover expenses. Furthermore, the developer will reimburse the City for previously incurred planning costs of $1 million. The developer has also agreed to construct three new City parks, previously estimated at $14.5 million. These parks will be funded by the developer and turned over to the City. In addition, $17 million of TIF funding will be provided to the site for a parking solution. The Rice Creek Commons project will include 326 units of affordable housing, of which 20 percent will be owner-occupied. Of the 326 units, 180 units are planned to be affordable at 50 percent and 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Ramsey County. Other previously established criteria of the development will remain part of the agreement. For example, the overall density on the site will be 1,460 housing units. When fully developed, the project will also create an estimated 4,000 additional jobs as well as new commercial, retail, and industrial development. The City hopes that Ramsey County will soon reach an agreement and sell the property to the developer to move this nearly $1 billion development forward.1 Looking North from the Southern Portion of the Rice Creek Commons Property