How Arden Hills' Rice Creek Commons is akin to creating city out of thin air in Twin Cities' core

Twin Cities News How Arden Hills' Rice Creek Commons is akin to creating city out of thin air in Twin Cities' core By Adam Duxter Adam Duxter Reporter Born and raised in Metro Detroit - Adam's journalism career has taken him across the Midwest. He and his wife settled in Minnesota in the fall of 2021. Read Full Bio Adam Duxter Updated on: October 14, 2026 / 6:32 PM CDT / CBS Minnesota Add CBS News on Google Rice Creek Commons, a project 13 years in the making, came to fruition Wednesday in Arden Hills, Minnesota, marking the first major development at the former site of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant.Ramsey County commissioners, city leaders and members of the business community were on hand for the grand opening of the new, 157,000-square-foot headquarters of Micro Control.It's a 10-acre site, but it's staggering considering the entirety of the redevelopment is more than 450 acres. The county bought the old plant from the U.S. government in 2013 and spent years cleaning decades of hazardous waste from the property. Construction began with an April 2025 groundbreaking, when officials said the redevelopment was expected to have a future economic impact of $1 billion, WCCO reported. The Ramsey County Board approved the sale of a portion of the land in January 2024.Rafael Ortega, chair of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, says he's already thinking about what's next. "When you think about it, this almost doubles the size of Arden Hills in terms of the city," Ortega said. He said the project also increases the county's tax base and gives residents a chance to live close to where they work.Ramsey County is already preparing to cut the ribbon on a new county road. Work on new places to live, shop and eat is to follow. In: Ramsey County Featured Local Savings Family sues Twin Cities plant over children's blood lead levels Neighbors say proposed Twin Rivers expansion would strain rural area St. Paul City Council approves plan to study impact of robotaxis 1990 Ventura County cold case partial human remains identified Fine Fire burns 100 acres near Calaveras-Stanislaus county line Howard County nonprofit skips another council meeting over community center 4 sets of twins born at Fairfield's NorthBay Medical Center Minneapolis Amplify brings dance floors to unexpected spaces