It’s not unusual to hear about brownfield properties being redeveloped into golf courses or other recreational-use properties. But rare indeed is the corporate project looking to take the place of the local links.
     Such is the case in the Twin Cities suburb of Mounds View, Minn., where medical device manufacturer Medtronic has set its sights on the 10-year-old, nine-hole Bridges of Mounds View Golf Course as the preferred headquarters site for its cardiac rhythm management group. The company hopes to break ground in September 2005, but debate at the local and state levels is causing a backup on Hole No. 1.

Medtronic's existing campus has no shortage of green space.

     At issue is the city’s ownership of the property, which it wants to cede to Medtronic. But when the city received the land from the state transportation department in 1988, it was under the condition that it serve a "public purpose." Otherwise, back to the state it would go.
     "I tend to view economic development as a public purpose, but not everyone agrees with me," says Aaron Backman, Mounds View economic development coordinator, touching on an issue that’s also at the heart of national eminent domain debate. "The golf course met that criteria, and before that the land sat for about five years until 1993 as open fallow property. In order for Medtronic to have a clear title to the property, we need to remove the reverter clause."
     While initial proposals included a mere handover of the land, company officials have stated their readiness to pay fair value for it. Fair enough, some say, when the company’s plan would bring 3,000 new jobs to Mounds View and potentially double that number with future expansion. Besides an existing Medtronic distribution site that employs 90, the city boasts a similar site from Disetronic Medical Systems on its list of major employers, which is headed by food service company Sysco. In fact, Sysco sold 46 acres adjacent to the site under scrutiny to the city in 1990.
     In February 2005, the state senate approved tax-increment financing for the Medtronic project, tying it into an initial phase that would feature 820,000 sq. ft. (76,178 sq. m.) of construction and a $65-million investment. Such status is not usually granted to properties that aren’t blighted, but the senate approved an exception to that rule. A state House transportation committee put its stamp of approval on the deal on March 31, and it was expected to be considered by the full House in mid-April. It has to pass muster with the Mounds View City Council later this summer.

    There certainly is Twin Cities precedent for tiffs over a TIF-backed HQ. Medtronic's fellow Minnesota company Best Buy was able to develop a massive headquarters in the suburb of Richfield a couple years ago thanks to successful TIF legislation. Backman says there is one other parallel: The eventual square footage of the Medtronic campus at complete buildout — 1.5 million sq. ft. (139,350 sq. m.) — would be identical to Best Buy's. He also notes that the site's eventual capital investment would total around $100 million, once labs and equipment are in place.
      Many look forward to the property being a boost to tax coffers instead of a drain. The golf course had $4 million in debt in 2004, although that was expected to be offset somewhat by a recent billboard deal. Some might lament the apparent loss of parkland and green space in a growing metro area, but then again, Medtronic campuses do their share of green space preservation too.
      "Their headquarters campus has a trail system and open space," says Backman. "This would have a significant amount of open space to it as well. We're still going to retain 46 acres [18.6 hectares] of open space here too, because we want to have some nice natural areas."
      "The scope of this project and the high-value medical technology jobs at stake make this proposal a major economic development opportunity for our area and the entire state," said Sen. Don Betzold, who represents the Mounds View-Blaine area. Company officials have testified that the typical job at the new campus would pay at least as much as the current $70,300 average salary (excluding higher paid senior executives) at Medtronic.
      Betzold cited the support of Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has separately proposed $15 million worth of road improvements to sweeten the pot. However, the TIF arrangement still has to pass muster with the state House, as well as the Mounds View City Council later this summer.
      Rich Fischer, manager of corporate public relations for Medtronic, tells Site Selection that the company projects $250 million in investment over the next four years in its Twin Cities metro facility portfolio. How much of that crosses the Bridges at Mounds View remains to be seen, and he says it will be some time before a purchase price is determined.
      "We are in the midst of serious and sensitive negotiations," he says, "and it will be one or two months before it's finalized. We're pleased with how things are going."
      Will business people miss the easy access of the nine-hole track? Maybe a little. But many would rather see executives in action at work than on the executive golf course.
      "It's a great course, and the driving range is used well," Backman admits. "The way I approach this is 'What is the highest and best use of the property?' It's tax-exempt now, and we'll be taking it to taxable, which has immediate value to the county, city and school district taxing jurisdictions."