Hillcrest Frequently Asked Questions

There is substantial soil contamination associated with the former golf course use that must be cleaned up. The Port Authority plans to haul out and/or reallocate soils on the site as part of site preparation in 2022 or 2023. The work will follow all state regulations and be reviewed and approved by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and/or the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. This includes preventing off-site impacts.

The City is committed to expanding the supply of affordable housing in Saint Paul. Goals for housing development at Hillcrest are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan goals for new City/HRA-assisted affordable housing units throughout the city, including rental units affordable to households earning at or below 30% Area Median Income (AMI) and up to 60% AMI, as well as affordable ownership opportunities within reach for households earning at or below 60% AMI and up to 80% AMI. The master plan's housing chapter establishes targets and priorities for any City/HRA-assisted affordable housing, by type and affordability level.

​No. In fact, less water will flow off the site after​ development than before, due to modern state and local regulations that would apply to new development.

We have conducted a high-level stormwater analysis that determined the site can handle water runoff as required by City and State regulations. The analysis also generally suggested where on the site the water could flow, be stored, and infiltrate into soils. After the master plan, the more specific development plans will need to show exactly where and how stormwater is being accommodated on the site. The goal is to ensure that less water runs off the site after development than current levels by retaining and infiltrating water on-site.

The 112-acre former golf course that is the subject of this master plan is a vacant, polluted site that needs a financially viable plan for its redevelopment. Care is being taken for planned uses to be complementary (and not competitive) with the commercial on White Bear Avenue – a point emphasized in the Community Priorities affirmed by the Hillcrest CAC. The +/- 1,000 jobs and +/- 1,000 households planned for this site will boost the potential number of customers for White Bear Avenue businesses (existing and future).

The draft master plan allows for a certain amount of flexibility for responding to changing economic conditions through administrative-level changes. More significant changes that exceed that specified amount of flexibility will require a public hearing process to amend the master plan.

“TIF”, or “tax increment financing”, is a way to finance development by essentially borrowing against its future value with the assumption that the value will increase due to the additional investment. Unlike Highland Bridge, which was a privately owned site, the Hillcrest site already has public subsidy, in the form of $10 million in Port Authority bonds to finance the purchase of the site. The ordinance allowing that bond issuance in 2019 set the expectation that land sales will pay for all site infrastructure, excepting only “advanced sustainability systems” such as solar or geothermal, which are being explored. The site does not meet the qualifications to establish a typical Redevelopment TIF district such as the TIF district established for the Highland Bridge development. The site could be eligible for an affordable housing TIF district, although those funds could only be used to benefit the affordable housing projects. The actual infrastructure costs and how the development is to be funded – including any public subsidy – are yet to be determined.

We do not know yet what housing purchase prices or rental prices will be, either at market-rate or for any subsidized housing.

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) was appointed by Mayor Melvin Carter from among over 70 applications via an open application process. They include Saint Paul residents, Maplewood residents, a Planning Commission representative, a District Council liaison representative, and three topical expert representatives. The CAC’s mission includes that its members “represent the broader community in addition to (their) own unique perspectives.”