On June 26, 2018, the Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies US, Inc. revealed that it has been awarded the redevelopment of the 122-acre former Ford Motor Company main plant site in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The site was the former home of the Ford assembly plant responsible for manufacturing the Ford Ranger pickup, and it will be the future site of a significant mixed-use development.
Ryan Companies will immediately begin an extensive due diligence period to understand the history and complexities of the site as well as begin work with the City of Saint Paul on a detailed development plan.
“Ryan is thrilled to be working on the redevelopment of the Ford Site. This is a complex site with considerable history, and the opportunity to help bring it back to life is something we are very excited about,” said Mike Ryan, Market Leader, Ryan Companies North region.
In a good example of the 3Re Strategy (repurpose, renew, reconnect) in action, the City of Saint Paul’s vision for the site is to create a connected, livable, mixed-use neighborhood that looks to the future. The vision states their desire for a site that will be woven into the existing community; support walking, biking and transit; and provide services, jobs and activities that every generation can enjoy.
Ryan added, “We know this will not be a small undertaking. The City of Saint Paul and numerous stakeholders have invested tremendous energies in re-thinking the site over the past decade, and this gives us a great basis for our work. We are getting mobilized but we know we have a lot of research and preparation to do before we have a detailed development plan to present. What is safe to say is that the surrounding neighborhoods, institutions, retail amenities, parks, and access to both downtowns and the airport are exceptional, and adding to them is our overarching priority.”
Ryan Companies has appeared in REVITALIZATION before. They have redeveloped a number of high profile projects in recent years, including:
- Downtown East, a $588 million dollar, five-block mixed-use project in Minneapolis, which situated on 4.2 acres of public greenspace;
- Marina Heights, the largest office development in Arizona history, located on 20 acres of land including public trails and a lakeside plaza; and
- Kirkland Urban, a pedestrian oriented mixed-use office, residential, and retail development that will become the new city center for Kirkland, Washington, a community in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Ryan is currently partnering with the City of Naperville, Illinois, to create a multi-use vision for the 5th Avenue Development, a 13-acre parcel adjacent to their bustling train station.
Elsewhere in Saint Paul, Ryan recently completed the award-winning CHS Field and Vintage on Selby projects.
Photo of Ford site courtesy of the Metropolitan Design Center / ©Regents of the University of Minnesota.
See Saint Paul’s website for the reuse of the former Ford plant.