Despite the recent April groundbreaking on its first development project, plans for the Rice Creek Commons site in Arden Hills have reached a new roadblock.

The future of the massive development is unclear after members of the Joint Development Authority agreed not to extend their agreement with master developer Alatus, with board members expressing concern and frustration with the developer’s pace. Alatus has been part of the project since 2016.

Afterward, Alatus filed a lawsuit alleging that the authority breached its agreement.

The lawsuit seeks to extend or continue the partnership with the JDA. It also states that the authority was “shopping around development” of a parcel with Alatus competitors in a “flagrant breach” of the agreement. It further states that the authority would have to use “groundwork” laid by Alatus in future development at the site.

The lawsuit also attributed delays to having to wait on public infrastructure design from Ramsey County and its contractors. Alatus also says in the lawsuit it has incurred more than $2 million in third party development costs.James Thomson, the attorney representing the JDA, said in an email Thursday that the board believes that it has fully complied with all of its obligations under its agreement with Alatus.

Next steps

What’s next is still to be determined as staff consider how the board will select developers.

The board’s decision not to extend its agreement with Alatus is disappointing, said former Arden Hills City Council member Tom Fabel. Taking time to find a new developer could complicate aspects of the project, Fabel said.

“That doesn’t happen quickly, I could see that extending things out a great deal of time, which is A, unfortunate just because of loss of time,” Fabel said. “And B, it creates, well, the financial risk and the political risk that the willingness of the city to enthusiastically support a final development agreement — which includes the amount of housing that we have fought for — might be undermined in the next election if we’re not able to hold a majority on the council.”

In 2022, voters in Arden Hills elected several city council candidates who ran on breaking the impasse with Ramsey County over housing density at the project. In 2024 the city and county were meeting again and additional housing was considered for the site.

A pause

Meanwhile, the board overseeing the project will need to examine what has changed since it last looked at developer solicitation.

Both the real estate market and financing options for green technology are among the issues, said Ramsey County District 1 Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh.

“So what we’re hoping to do at our next meeting is to really take a pause and reflect, to say, ‘What can we build off of from our current understanding of our sustainability guidelines, the past processes and all of the plans that we have?” said Jebens-Singh, a member of the Joint Development Authority. “We’re taking this time as a pause to make sure we’re taking the temperature of the time and seeing if there’s any shifts or evolutions in our processes or thinking that we need to adopt before we figure out our next step.”

In 2013 Ramsey County purchased the site — then known as the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant — and funded the cleanup, spending $28.5 million. The proposed 427-acre redevelopment is to include retail, office and light industrial projects as well as housing. There is hope the development will help grow the county’s tax base and draw thousands of new residents.