The development would entail two five- or six-story buildings with more buildings possibly added later at the 118-acre site. Previously, city staff had been dealing with Cresa Partners, real estate consultants that often work with Medtronic. But the Mounds View City Council has endorsed direct talks with Medtronic.

Medtronic is the largest of three companies that dominate the $2-billion-plus cardiac rhythm management industry, which makes devices to regulate heartbeats. Medtronic had been courted by New Brighton, Mounds View's neighbor to the south. New Brighton hoped the company would anchor a redevelopment project in the city's northwest quadrant, but after more than a year of negotiations the deal fell through. New Brighton has since been talking with other potential tenants.

Hurdles remain. Part of the golf course land is an old Minnesota Department of Transportation yard given to the city on the condition that it is used for a "public purpose." To head off any potential litigation, legislators soon must pass a bill that would remove that language.