Arden Hills redevelopment agreement reached... sort of

A long debated plan to redevelop a former ammunition site in Arden Hills may finally be moving forward.

What's happening: City officials and developer Alatus have reached an agreement that would allow for 1,460 housing units, 20% of which would be income-restricted. The project, called Rice Creek Commons, would also include commercial buildings and parks.

• The City Council approved the general agreement, which includes $17 million in tax-increment financing, on Monday night.

Yes, but: Ramsey County, which owns the land and spent $40 million buying and cleaning the property, said it only heard about the agreement through an Arden Hills press release yesterday.

• The county has pushed hard for 2,500 homes on the 320 acres.
• "While it would be premature to provide comment at this point, as the landowner we will be happy to do so once we have our questions about the agreement satisfied," said Ramsey County spokesperson John Siqveland.

The bottom line: Ramsey County has to decide if this deal is good enough.