Right now, the site of the sprawling ‘The Heights’ project in St. Paul is a construction zone. But developers have big plans for the 112-acre location, on the city’s east side.
“So, we really want to create a spot for community, a place to live, a place to work, a place to play,” explains Kathryn Sarnecki, the Chief Development Officer with the St. Paul Port Authority. “A place that really pushes the envelope on how to create the next generation of sustainable communities.”
Those plans include a $400 million housing project, part of the $550 million redevelopment of the former Hillcrest Golf Club.
The project has several major goals, including the construction of 1,000 housing units, four light industrial buildings, and the creation of 1,000 manufacturing jobs.
“For this project, coupling renewable energy with affordable housing and jobs in a neighborhood that has been disadvantaged, is really an exciting part of the project,” explains Jenae Batts, a spokesperson with District Energy St. Paul, a non-profit utility partner of the city.
What makes this project different is how its 10 buildings will be heated and cooled and supplied with hot and cold water.
It’s called geothermal energy.
“Geothermal energy is using the heart of the earth in this case,” Batts notes. “It will be the heat of the aquifer to heat and cool buildings.”
The Minnesota Climate Innovation Finance Authority, or MnCIFA, is known as a ‘green bank’ that funds energy projects that might have difficulty finding financial resources elsewhere.
