Public spaces are as integral to Destination Medical Center plans as the private development that will surround them, and the Rochester City Council is nearly ready to take a step ahead in designing those spaces.
The council at a Monday committee of the whole meeting discussed plans to advertise for public space design services, for the DMC subdistrict Heart of the City. The city would coordinate with the DMC Corp. Board to issue a request for proposals, said Gary Neumann, assistant city administrator.
The Heart of the City district includes some of Rochester’s most well-known and often-used public spaces, including Peace Plaza near Mayo Clinic’s Gonda Building. The DMC Development Plan illustrated eight “key places” to inform planning of the public spaces; those spaces included the light pavilion, ice pavilion, grand arch and plaza steps.