The Arden Hills City Council has approved a development plan to add more than 1,900 housing units to the city on the old Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, which covers more than 400 acres.

The site is now called Rice Creek Commons and a good portion of the additional housing would be senior and affordable housing units along with commercial retail outlets as well.

The vote on Jan. 8 was 3-2, with City Council member Brenda Holden expressing concern over the total cost of the project over 30 years.

“Right now, if you look at our financials, 30 years and that’s just the basic services, where we don’t even have enough money to pay for this,” said Holden. “So, everyone in lower Arden Hills is going to get hit with large bills.”

City Council member Tena Monson told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the TCAAP location is prime real estate with a huge upside for the city moving forward.

“One of these unique opportunities because it’s so large, of an undeveloped area, close to two metro cities,” said Monson. “You could arguably say 427 acres this close to a metro area is unique for the country.”

Monson said the new housing units should help close the gap that exists right now for affordable housing in the metro.

“There’s commercial, there’s retail use as well as retail, so it’s a mixed-use development and the intention vision of the whole site is for it to be walkable and work nearby where you live and, of course, be sustainable,” added Monson.

Monson said if everything stays on schedule with an agreement between the city, county and the developer, ground is expected to be broken on the site in 2027.