A Major Milestone for Rochester

DMCC Community Engagement Session 2
Visitors to the DMC community information session examine an artistic rendering of what downtown Rochester may look like 20 years from now.

Calling today’s unveiling of the 694-page draft for development of Destination Medical Center “a very important milestone” for the City of Rochester, DMCC Board Chairwoman Tina Smith congratulated the consultants who helped create the plan and the public who helped shape it.

“Today was a very important milestone … for Rochester, which is going to be a global destination for health and wellness,” Smith said. “This is the product of a lot of hard work, and that includes your input.”

Smith was speaking at today’s community information session, hosted by the DMC Economic Development Agency, where the public could discover and discuss the first formal draft of the DMC development plan. Rochesterites and the public got their first look at the plan today, during a 1-hour presentation from planners and project managers.

Let’s cut to the chase. The proposal suggests we focus initially on transportation and infrastructure for the area surrounding Mayo Clinic and Peace Plaza. The rationale we got from consultants is that transportation takes time and the First Avenue crosswalk at Peace Plaza needs an upgrade–soon.

Mayor Ardell Brede called today’s unveiling “a very exciting day for the City of Rochester.”

The plan “not only allows us Mayo Clinic to grow–and that’s very important–it allows other businesses to grow and thrive,” Brede said. “It’s a very exciting future for the city of Rochester.”

The DMCC Board has five weeks to review the plan and request changes before it submits a revised proposal to the City Council on January 29, 2015. After that, the city has 60 days to review the plan and recommend changes further changes.

“The final DMC will be a plan that reflects the views and aspirations of how we can build one of the best cities in the United States.” — Ardell Brede