What has happened

From a World War II ammunition plant to an upcoming urban development, the land area of Rice Creek Commons, formerly the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP), has undergone significant change over the past few decades. 

The TCAAP land was first settled by farmers in 1850, according to the city of Arden Hills, and the federal government acquired that land in 1941. TCAAP became fully functional in 1943 as a small arms plant for World War II. The ammunition plant operated until the Vietnam War ended when TCAAP was placed on standby in 1976. 

In 1981, solvents from the ammunition plant were discovered in groundwater wells neighboring the land. While the ammunition plant was in use, contaminated water and sewage were discharged into areas neighboring the plant and Round Lake. The U.S. Army began to clean up the contaminated area. To address the groundwater issues, the U.S. Army treats the current groundwater affected by the solvents and supplies residents through municipal systems from Saint Paul Regional Water Services.

Since the clean-up process started, many development proposals were presented to the city of Arden Hills. The first major development plan was in 2002 with Ryan Companies, known as the “Ryan Plan,” but the development plan was canceled in 2009 due to the Great Recession. In 2011, the Minnesota Vikings considered the land to create a new stadium. They ultimately decided to develop the stadium in place of the old Metrodome instead, likely due to pushback from city officials to keep the team in Minneapolis.

Ramsey County renamed the land Rice Creek Commons in 2014 after the county purchased the site in 2013 from the U.S. government. In September 2017, Amazon announced their plans to create a new headquarters, known as HQ2, anywhere in the United States. Ramsey County proposed the idea of building the new Amazon headquarters in the newly renamed Rice Creek Commons and downtown St. Paul. In 2023, Amazon decided to build its new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. 

Most recently, Ramsey County has entered a purchase and sale agreement with Ryan Companies to develop Outlot A, a portion of Rice Creek Commons that has been zoned for commercial use. The contaminated groundwater won’t affect the drinking water of future residents at Rice Creek Commons, Sara Thatcher told the Pioneer Press in 2017. The drinking water will instead come from St. Paul Regional Water Services. 

As Rice Creek Commons develops, the increase in housing raises a question regarding Mounds View Public Schools: How would this population spike affect the school sizes? 

Rice Creek Commons is included in the district boundaries. In 2017, Mounds View Public Schools anticipated an increase in students and created a $165 million bond referendum to add classrooms and expand other areas of different schools in the district, such as Pinewood Elementary School and Island Lake Elementary School.  

“We have always worked closely with our city partners as they approve and complete housing development across the community. Rice Creek Commons is the one remaining development that was part of the enrollment study and resulting 2017 Facilities Bond additions,” said Superintendent Chris Lennox. 

Although Rice Creek Commons has had a long history of development proposals and cancellations, the recent development proposal by Ryan Companies shows promise for the future of the development.