Building Design + Construction: Ryan Companies breaks ground on 122-acre Highland Bridge redevelopment in St. Paul, Minn.

By John Caulfield, Senior Editor, Building Design + Construction

Article Excerpt: 

On a 122-acre site along the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minn., where Ford Motor Co. operated a plant for 84 years until it closed in 2011, Ryan Companies recently broke ground virtually on an ambitious mixed-use development named Highland Bridge. When completed, this transformed community will feature 3,800 housing units, 265,000 sf of office space, 150,000 sf of retail space, 50,000 sf of civic or institutional space, and 55 acres of public and open space with over 10 bike and pedestrian paths covering five miles.

This $1.3 billion project—whose funding includes $320 million in public and private investments for parks, infrastructure, affordable housing, and tax-increment financing—has been a decade in the making. Bringing the master plan to life involved 45 public meetings that drew 1,300 attendees, and 80 presentations to business, civic, and nonprofit groups.