by Shane Henson — May 29, 2013—The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced the sale and transfer this month of a 427-acre portion of the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) in Arden Hills, Minnesota, to Ramsey County. According to the GSA, it is selling the inactive U.S. Army ammunition plant as part of its ongoing effort to dispose of excess federal property to save taxpayer dollars and make more efficient use of the government’s real estate assets.
The deal transfers ownership of 397 acres to Ramsey County immediately, while the remaining 30 acres will be transferred to the county after it conducts environmental remediation, which is expected to take approximately three years given that the area surrounding the plant is contaminated with base neutral acids, metals, pesticides and other substances harmful to human health.
The county, in partnership with the city of Arden Hills, intends to promote economic development by ensuring that future development at TCAAP provides employment opportunities and improves the tax base and the local economy. The TCAAP conveyance is a complex and innovative transaction that creates local jobs in the environmental remediation, building demolition and construction industries. As part of the consideration, Ramsey County executed a $23 million contract for environmental remediation and building demolition, which is now underway, says the GSA.
GSA adds that it is moving aggressively to dispose of surplus properties across the United States, and the agency is currently hosting auctions, requesting industry input, and offering proposed exchanges so it can put even more surplus and underutilized properties to new uses. Since 2010, the GSA has completed nearly 400 disposal transactions nationwide, which have generated $145 million in proceeds and eliminated more than 12,500 acres of excess land.
