HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 02-04 St. Paul Port Authority is hired to redevelop ammo site STAR TRIBUNEStarTribune
St. Paul Port Authority is hired
to redevelop ammo site
Article by: Jim Anderson
Star Tribune
February 4, 2014 - 9:04 PM
Another major project has been added to the St.
Paul Port Authority's already -bulging portfolio of
redevelopment targets: the Twin Cities Army
Ammunition Plant in Arden Hills.
Ramsey County Commissioner Rafael Ortega
speaks during a ceremony celebrating the
continued demolition of the former Twin Cities
Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAPI in Arden
The Ramsey County Board on Tuesday voted 6-1 Hills, Friday, Acne 7, 2013.
to make the city's development agency its Genevieve Ross, Special to the Star Tribune
consultant and real estate agent as the
transformation of the one-time munitions manufacturing site into commercial and residential
uses begins. -
The county bought the 427 -acre site in April 2012 for $28.2 million.
Under terms of a one-year deal, the Port Authority, will advise the county and the site's Joint
Development Authority — a panel made up of officials from Ramsey County and Arden Hills
---- on planning and coordinating its development. The agency also will act as the broker when
parcels of land within the TCAAP site, as it is known, are sold.
The county will pay the Port Authority $175 an hour for its services. The agency also will be
paid a 5 percent commission on real estate transactions and 7 percent on co -brokered deals.
Both rates are lower than those charged in the private market, Commissioner Victoria
Reinhardt said.
The county will pay only for consulting services it requests, she said. "So we are in control of
that --- its not something,that they would go do, and then bill us for," she added.
Commissioner Janice Rettman cast the lone vote against the plan after expressing concern
about how the Port Authority's services would be funded. The money would come from
contingency funds built into the TCAAP site's purchase price, County Manager Julie
Kleinschmidt said. Rather than being directly paid back to the county's general fund internally,
the money would be recouped when land at the site is sold.
Other commissioners said the Port Authority's expertise in redevelopment, particularly with
polluted sites, — which TCAAP is — made it a valuable investment.
"This is about creating jobs, creating living; wage jobs" Commissioner Rafael Ortega said.
"This contract is about having the Port Authority on board to help us align as the property is
developed to make sure that, as we negotiate, that we are bringing those kinds of jobs to
TCAAP and the county.... Otherwise, it would still be sitting there, polluted."
Since the. property was purchased, nearly all of its buildings have been demolished and soil
cleanup has begun. The site will be cleaned to residential standards. Ail preparation work is
scheduled to be done by the middle of next year.
Meanwhile, early designs for housing, parks and commercial property on the site are being
developed. Gov. Mark Dayton's $986 million bonding request to the Legislature included $29
million for road and bridge projects at the site, east of the junction of Hwy. 10 and Interstate
35W.
The TCAAP site is the latest high-profile redevelopment project taken on by the Port
Authority. The site is a natural --fit for -what the agency does, spokesman Tom Collins said. Nor
is it unusual for the Port Authority to work beyond the bounds, of -the city. The agency has
done energy conservation projects in Minneapolis, for example, and has assisted the city of
Sartell -after a fire destroyed and forced the closure of the.Verso paper plant, a major
employer.
Just last week, the agency purchased the vacant Macy's department store in downtown St.
Paul for $3 million, with plans that could include redeveloping it into housing or commercial
space.
It also bought the Lowertown ballpark site when the city of St. Paul was too strapped for cash
to buy it, then swapped it with the city for old Midway Stadium, which will become part of
Energy Park Business Center. after the St. Paul Saints leave for their new park in 2015.
Several businesses already have expressed interest in locating there, Collins said.
The agency also is drawing new tenants to its 61 -acre Beacon Bluff site, the former
headquarters of the 3M Co. on St. Paul's East Side. The authority purchased the site for $5
million after 3M moved its operations to Maplewood. Three businesses already have located
there, and one of the biggest pieces of the project, the overhaul of Building 21 — 3M's world
headquarters from 1910 to 1962 -- is heading to completion.
Jim Anderson - 651-925-5039 Twitter: @StribJAnderson