Ramsey County and the City of Arden Hills released Monday the long-awaited request for proposals for a master developer of the 427-acre former site of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant.
The former Superfund site was built in 1942 to manufacture munitions for Allied forces during World War II.
The county has poured $30 million into for demolition and environmental cleanup of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) site in order to raise it to residential standards. The cleanup wrapped up in November while on-site treatment of contaminated groundwater will continue for decades.
The project is being championed by both the county and city as the Joint Development Authority, or JDA. The group's goal is to create "an integrated mixture of residential opportunities, a corporate campus, high-end manufacturing, and retail uses," according to the bid request packet.
Here's the outline of their master plan vision:
The JDA hopes to select a master developer by May 2. Below are other key dates within the process.
At its peak, the TCAAP employed 26,000 people, half of which were women. It was closed in 1945 and reopened for small bouts to make munitions for the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The group is seeking redevelopment of the site at the same time the City of St. Paul and Ford Motor Co. are working to prepare the former Ford plant site along the Mississippi River for redevelopment. The Ford Site is large for an urban redevelopment site, but its 122 acres are dwarfed by the TCAAP site.
