The money would be used to clean up for 45 acres of the Northwest Quadrant area. Past uses of the site have included trucking facilities, rendering plants and other industrial uses. The site also has contaminants from the old municipal Miller Dump.

Medtronic plans to develop a 560,000-sf to 820,000-sf office and research complex by 2007, which will create about 250 new jobs, retain more than 1,000 jobs, and increase the city's tax base by $1.4 million, according to state officials. The city estimates that it could take more than $4 million to clean up the property and prepare it for development.

The state and Met Council grants are designed to clean up Superfund-level contamination on sites that could be quickly redeveloped. Applications for the state grant were judged on the level of site contamination, the threat to public health and safety, and the possible economic impact of the proposed redevelopment.