Realizing progress and planning for what’s next
One of the rewards for being involved in Rochester’s growth is that I get to see something new – change happening every single day – in real time.
The physical changes to downtown Rochester with new buildings and spaces and renovations are already transforming our community in positive ways, but the true power of Destination Medical Center (DMC) lies in what’s happening around and between these physical structures- the collective work of many.
In just five short years, over $1 billion of new private investment is either completed, under construction or in various phases of development in the DMC district. New hotels, living options, restaurants, a state-of-the-art health and innovation campus, and new transportation options have greatly enhanced the downtown experience, and we’re just getting started.
Have we gotten everything right – no, and that’s why we prototype and test concepts, so the final product meets the needs of the community today and tomorrow.
As we turn the page on a new year, we also begin a new chapter with DMC. This year, we’ll be updating the DMC Development Plan and forecasting the next five years. We’ve begun the process with input from various community organizations and leaders.
Over the next several months, we’ll outline DMC’s future plan for public and private development; we’ll provide a framework to identify and prioritize public investment; we’ll include land use, transportation operations and market research information and we’ll identify fiscal and economic impacts. Our plan is to share updates along the way and seek community feedback.
It’s been an amazing five years, collaborating with so many partners including the State of Minnesota, city of Rochester, Olmsted County, Mayo Clinic, community organizations and the various developers and investors from all around the country.
And, we thank the community and local businesses for taking this journey with us and enduring the many disruptions that come with this type of transformative change. We know it’s not easy, and we are grateful.
We look forward to the next five years and Rochester’s evolution as a city of the future.
Lisa Clarke, DMC EDA Executive Director