Latest news with #RyanCos
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ground is broken for next phase projects at St. Paul's Highland Bridge
With a ceremonial toss of a shovel of dirt, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joined developers with the Ryan Cos. along Ford Parkway this week to break ground on a long-stalled, $68 million phase of construction within Highland Bridge, which will include the first retail additions since Lunds and Byerlys relocated a nearby store there in September 2022. Highland Bridge, which is about 50% developed, was once the site of the Ford Motor Co.'s Twin Cities assembly plant, which closed in December 2011, leading into more than 13 years of planning, soil remediation and building construction. That construction has slowed, though not entirely stopped, in the era of high interest rates, softer urban housing demand and rent control, which the city of St. Paul permanently rolled back last month for new construction. Work on the five new additions — spanning four single-level retail buildings, a 97-unit mixed-use apartment building with ground-level retail, and a two-level parking structure — is expected to get underway in earnest this summer and continue into October or November 2026. Given the current state of interest rates, financing and urban housing demand, 'it is challenging right now to do market-rate, multi-family,' said Maureen Michalski, a senior vice president of development with the Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos., 'but we're committed to the site. Weidner Apartment Homes is committed to the site. We're willing to advance the site based on this being a legacy project for us.' One of the single-story structures to be erected closest to Lunds and Byerlys already has a tenant lined up — Tierra Encantada, a Spanish-immersion daycare that plans to make Highland Bridge its 10th Minnesota location. The three other single-story structures, which will front Ford Parkway, will be built on more of an 'if you build it, they will come' model, with hopes of attracting retail to one of the more affluent corners of the city. Together with the ground-level of the future mixed-use building, they'll total 35,000 square feet of retail, Michalski said. The 133-acre Highland Bridge development also houses a two-story medical office building anchored by M Health Fairview, though most of the other construction to date has been residential, and until now, hundreds of units of planned market-rate housing have been on pause for years. That pause is over, according to the Ryan Cos. 'We have a variety of actions taken at the (city) council level that helped,' Michalski said, noting recent changes to tax increment financing agreements and other site controls. 'We essentially looked at the existing redevelopment agreement and minimum assessment agreement, and made some reallocations and rebalancing there … basically changing some timing of things.' The latest buildings, to be developed by the Ryan Cos. and located between Cretin Avenue and Mount Curve Boulevard, will be bisected by a new pedestrian promenade that will emerge at an angle from a small plaza to be located near Lunds at Ford Parkway and Cretin Ave. The future promenade will extend to an existing plaza located near Marvella 2190, the senior independent living apartment complex at 2190 Hillcrest Ave. 'It's a very desirable location,' Michalski said. 'Marvella 2190, which just opened in the spring, was fully leased when it opened in March.' Roads and infrastructure along the far southern end of the site are being completed south of Montreal Avenue and east of Cretin Avenue. Throughout Highland Bridge, four parks have opened to the public. Michalski said Weidner Apartment Homes plans to begin work next year on a roughly 170-unit apartment building south of the site, toward Bohland and Cretin avenues, and Presbyterian Homes plans additional senior housing. Elsewhere within the 133-acre development, six of 20 single-family lots have been sold, Michalski said, and about 150 upscale Pulte rowhomes have been completed to date. Overall, Highland Bridge currently spans about 1,000 units of residential housing, much of it located within multi-family developments and senior apartments built close to Ford Parkway. Of that total, about 200 units would qualify as affordable housing, much of it assembled with the help of tax incentives known as tax increment financing, using market-rate development to subsidize the affordable units. The Lumin, affordable senior apartments developed by CommonBond Communities, and Project for Pride in Living's Restoring Waters, which caters to families that have experienced homelessness, were constructed with funding derived in part from the two market-rate Marvella senior housing projects. Restoring Waters is now the headquarters for Emma Norton Services. St. Paul: At Highland Bridge, Weidner Homes, Ryan Cos. win concessions St. Paul City Council ends rent control for housing built after 2004 St. Paul: Ryan Cos. plan for four one-story buildings along Ford Parkway inch closer to approval by default
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Paul: At Highland Bridge, Weidner Homes, Ryan Cos. win concessions
Eager to jumpstart 450 residential units and a series of commercial buildings on long-stalled development parcels at Highland Bridge, the St. Paul City Council voted 5-2 on Wednesday to amend a longstanding tax incentive district, delaying construction of some internal sidewalks and landscaping for up to five years. The amendments — the sixth to the former Ford Motor Co. site's $275 million tax increment financing district since 2016 — do not alter the total spending planned within the TIF district, but they do alter payment schedules. A new 'minimum assessments agreement' shifts some TIF payments from interest to principal and saves the master developer, the Ryan Cos., some costs upfront as the taxable value of particular land parcels are lowered. 'This does not impact the city budget or the general fund,' said Council Member Saura Jost, addressing the city council on Wednesday. 'This reduces the holding cost to the developer, enabling it to move forward as foreseen in the master plan. … We're not changing the public investment at the site.' Getting county assessors to agree to drop land values took a joint effort from both the city and the Ryan Cos. At Highland Bridge, Weidner Apartment Homes now plan construction of two market-rate apartment buildings spanning 350 housing units in the near future. Nearby, the Ryan Cos. had once planned to have started work on a series of commercial or mixed-use buildings on the parcel known as 'Block 2' back in 2021. Neither project has moved forward in recent years, with both developers blaming the city's rent control policies for adding to an already-complicated financing landscape weighed down by high interest rates, rising construction costs and other barriers. The Ryan Cos. have since redrawn their plans for four one-story commercial buildings, as well as a four-story, mixed-use residential building consisting of 97 market-rate rental units attached to ground-floor commercial space, a rooftop deck, streetscape improvements and a public promenade. Also planned is a 190-stall structured parking facility. 'You would see immediate development at this site,' said Maureen Michalski, a regional senior vice president of development with the Ryan Cos., referring to the TIF agreement. So far, the developer has secured a letter of intent for a daycare to operate in one of the stand-alone commercial buildings. Both Council Members HwaJeong Kim and Nelsie Yang voted against the new TIF arrangement and the related agreements. While 20% of Highland Bridge is set up for affordable housing through a master plan, Yang expressed concern Wednesday that there was little clarity about the specific rents planned in the new residential buildings. The overall number of residential units planned for Highland Bridge has been redrawn at 3,100 units, down from an initial projection of 3,800 units, according to city staff. Rents at an existing market-rate development — The Collection at Highland Bridge — average about $2,000 per unit, according to a spokesperson for Weidner Apartment Homes, who said he expected the new construction to proceed along the same grounds. 'Is this truly the biggest win that we can get for the city of St. Paul at the negotiation table?' said Yang, noting that Ramsey County had delayed a vote this week on the new minimum assessments agreement. 'I don't know what an alternative agreement could have looked like. … Also, where is the county on this, too? This is something that is going to be impacting them.' With Weidner refusing to move forward until the company was released from rent control obligations, the city council voted 4-3 last week to relieve all buildings citywide built after 2004 from the city's voter-approved 3% cap on annual rent increases. Council Member Cheniqua Johnson, who chairs the city's Housing and Redevelopment Authority, said Wednesday she was excited to see new housing move forward, though she was disappointed with Weidner's lack of communication with her office, as well as with the city in general, prior to the council vote on the rent control amendment. 'I want to add you to that discussion,' said Johnson, addressing Weidner development director Nick Nowotarski, who promised better days ahead. 'That was the first time I had ever met you.' Added Council President Rebecca Noecker, 'I have been on this council for 10 years, and I've never had any contact with Weidner. … It matters to have you show up, and it matters to have this communication.' The Ryan Cos. now hope to build the stand-alone commercial structures and the mixed-use building on Blocks 2 using both a public business subsidy and some $24 million in additional loan principal, supported by tax increment financing through a pay-as-you-go note. 'TIF' tax incentives allow private developers to complete public-facing aspects of their developments using money that would ordinarily pay off city, county and school district tax obligations. The city's Housing and Redevelopment Authority hired the tax firm Baker Tilly as a fiscal consultant to evaluate project costs, financing and operations and confirm the need for TIF to move the Ryan Cos.' Block 2 project forward. A fresh agreement involves lower new tax values for the buildable land. The original 'minimum assessments agreement … places a tax burden on the properties without an offsetting income source,' reads the city staff report. 'Both the city and the developer have incurred debt to advance the infrastructure and have carefully evaluated adjustments to the minimum values to entice the stalled development to proceed.' 'We have worked with the assessor, who is supportive of adjustments to certain lots,' the report states. 'The resulting … amendment will reduce values for the certain lots in the short term.' The lot values will exceed the original values in 2041 and continue to increase through the year 2047, the final year of the TIF district. Separately, the Weidner agreement will require the construction of two buildings resulting in approximately 350 housing units over the next few years, as well as pre-payment to the city of all of their 'Green Infrastructure' assessments. Jost noted that form of binding development agreement was not in place previously. The two developers have agreed not to apply for additional city or Housing and Redevelopment Authority funds on land they own for any future 'vertical development' at Highland Bridge. 'Highland Bridge is important to Ward 3,' Jost told the council Wednesday. 'It's important to the whole city. … Our city will see one of its vacant spaces replaced with something of purpose. … We're expanding the housing options available to our residents in Highland.'
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Officials to break ground on 1st Rice Creek Commons project in Arden Hills
Officials will break ground on the first construction project at Rice Creek Commons this week — the start to a 427-acre development in Arden Hills. The parcel of the former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, purchased from the U.S. government by Ramsey County in 2013, will be redeveloped for businesses, retail and proposed housing. The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved terms for a phased development of a 40-acre commercial parcel called 'Outlot A' – which is adjacent to the Rice Creek Commons – earlier this month. The total future estimated development value is $1 billion. The groundbreaking will include officials from Ramsey County, the city of Arden Hills and developer Ryan Cos. The new facility is a 157,000-square-foot advanced technology project that will be the headquarters of Micro Control Company, a test equipment manufacturer for the electronics industry. It will take up approximately 10 acres of the 40-acre Outlot A, which is on the north end of Rice Creek Commons. Micro Control Company will brings jobs to the area and the company was open to working within sustainability guidelines set for the development, making it a good fit for the parcel, said Ramsey County Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh. Ramsey County is the most fully developed county in the state, so adding a large development is significant, Jebens-Singh said. It comes at a time when the county is in need of housing, jobs and green space and the large space allows officials to think of how to meet those needs, said Jebens-Singh, who also is a member of the Joint Development Authority. 'It's very forward thinking,' she said. 'So in some ways, not only is that good for our local region, for Arden Hills and for the district that I represent in Ramsey County, but as a model for these kind of developments across the Midwest and hopefully across the country.' The Joint Development Authority's vision for the site is to 'create economic prosperity, build an inclusive economy, have a long-term sustainable development and develop an energy-forward community by providing much-needed housing at a variety of income levels – including affordable housing – and creating well-paying jobs,' according to a county release. 'It's fantastic to see this first phase of development at Rice Creek Commons begin to come to life and see the sustainability and clean energy measures that are being incorporated in the project. We look forward to welcoming Micro Control Company to our city as our first new neighbor in this great Arden Hills community asset,' said Tena Monson, Arden Hills city councilmember and Joint Development Authority commissioner, in a statement. Clean-up of the site — previously the largest contaminated site in the state — is complete. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency have removed the site's soil and surface water from the state and federal Superfund lists, and the U.S. Army will continue to operate the groundwater cleanup system as needed. Other plans for the area include Spine Road, a future county road that will run through Rice Creek Commons. Construction is anticipated in the next year. Joint Development Authority Chair Jon Wicklund, in a statement, called the first phase of Outlot A a 'generational development.' 'This is an excellent first step in advancing our vision for a vibrant community that will spark economic development and meet the needs of the region for decades to come — and we look forward to celebrating additional site developments in the months ahead,' Wicklund said. MN Health Department updates fish consumption guidelines for PFAS Bemidji woman pleads guilty to baby's fentanyl death in Roseville hotel room A new Minnesota cover crop could help make air travel greener, UMN St. Paul researchers say St. Paul alley shooter gets 17-year prison sentence for killing man on East Side Tim Walz appoints Victoria Elsmore to fill Second Judicial District vacancy
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ramsey County OKs amended purchase, sale agreement of Arden Hills parcel
The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved an amendment to the purchase and sale agreement for a commercial development as part of Rice Creek Commons. The amendment with developer Ryan Cos. finalizes terms for a phased development of 'Outlot A,' a 40-acre parcel adjacent to the Rice Creek Commons – formerly the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant – development, starting with an approximately 10-acre portion on the north end of the parcel in Arden Hills. Outlot A is zoned for commercial use under Arden Hills' TCAAP Redevelopment Code. Ryan Cos. is planning a potential corporate campus, a research and development center or a mix of manufacturing and distribution facilities alongside retail and restaurant space or other possibilities, the Pioneer Press reported last year. Ramsey County approved the sale of all of Outlot A for $12.8 million to Ryan Cos. last January. Ryan Cos. estimates Outlot A will yield between 400,000 and 600,000 square feet of commercial space. Outlot A will be developed in phases with Ryan Cos. proposing a 157,000-square-foot advanced technology project for Outlot A's 10 acres for its first phase. That project is still in its due diligence period. Ryan Cos. could present a final development agreement April 7 to the Joint Development Authority, a group of elected officials from Ramsey County and Arden Hills that oversees Rice Creek Commons redevelopment. The project received initial approval in March. Closing on the first phase of the 10 acres is expected by April 30, according to the county. The amended purchase and sale agreement brings the total purchase price to $9.2 million. Up to $3.5 million is expected to be invested into a low-carbon and energy-efficient design in phase one. Sustainability design guidelines were approved for Rice Creek Commons by the Joint Development Authority in January. Outlot A will connect to the Rice Creek North Regional Trail for bicycle and pedestrian access, with Ryan Cos. expected to incorporate green and outdoor spaces throughout the development. Made in St. Paul: A 20-foot geometric optical artwork, by custom cabinetry shop Designed & Made
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Yahoo
St. Paul firefighters find person dead after extinguishing garage fire in North End
Firefighters putting out a blaze in a garage in St. Paul found a person dead inside Wednesday night. The cause of the fire in the North End is under investigation; it did not appear suspicious, said Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith. Firefighters responded to a report of a detached garage fire in the 1400 block of Mayre Street off Arlington Avenue just before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. They needed multiple fire hoses to extinguish the fire, according to Smith. The person who died appeared to be a man. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office will officially identify him and determine his cause of death. Wednesday's fatality comes after two men died in a garage in St. Paul on Feb. 9 on Sims Avenue near White Bear Avenue. The cause of that fire was a space heater that was accidentally knocked over, according to the fire department. One of the men was the homeowner's son and lived in the garage on and off. Crime & Public Safety | Charges: DNA ties three St. Paul sexual assaults to 18-year-old man Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul City Council deadlocks around Ryan Cos. plan to add one-story buildings along Ford Parkway Crime & Public Safety | Breakaway Music Festival will return to St. Paul's Allianz Field in June Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul man who accidentally shot 19-year-old friend spared prison time Crime & Public Safety | Ramsey County Judge Patrick Diamond, who ruled on Data Practices violations, transgender discrimination cases, dies at 64
