Month: October 2015

Collaborating for success: DMC, J2G, and SE Minnesota Together

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collaborateMinnesota’s falling jobless rates (down to 3.8 in September) and the tens of thousands of anticipated new jobs needed to support DMC over the next 20 years have prompted the development of new regional initiatives to ensure that the southeastern region of the state is prepared. These initiatives are also helping to guide economic success and ensure growth is managed, diverse, and collaborative. Two such initiatives, which are complementary to efforts taking place through DMC, include SE Minnesota Together and Journey to Growth.

SE Minnesota Together is a complementary project funded through a $80,000 community development grant provided by the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. SE MN Together is focused on ensuring that the entire southeast region, especially the smaller communities, is equipped to address workforce shortages as well as transportation and housing issues.

SE MN Together is hosting a series of three community conversations to empower communities to address their own labor force issues, develop partnerships and collaborations within the region, and leverage the opportunities provided by DMC and J2G.

The first conversation will be held in Albert Lea on Oct 29 with subsequent conversations taking place in Owatonna on Nov 12 and in Winona on Dec 3. You can register to attend any or all of these free events on EventBrite.

Journey to Growth (J2G) is a Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. initiative which seeks to diversify the economy, optimize the regional talent base, and enhance the identity and connectedness of the eight counties of SE Minnesota and beyond.

Working together is critical to successfully achieve the global destination vision of DMC. By being collaborative, proactive, and inclusive, southeastern Minnesota can optimize the long-term growth taking place across this prosperous region.

You spoke, we listened: The new DMC website is here!

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Earlier this year, we asked you to help us create a new website.

Our Goal. To increase transparency, improve accessibility, and enhance connections to DMC, the city of Rochester, and the state of Minnesota.

More than 150 local and regional stakeholders responded.

The Result. A dynamic, engaging site that meets the diverse needs of the many people dedicated to making the DMC vision a success.

The new look reflects how important we feel it is to keep everyone connected with DMC through a single web portal. You’ll find tools developers and investors need to help generate new jobs and tax revenue. You’ll discover news and priorities for community residents to become and remain informed DMC advocates. And you’ll see opportunities for patients and visitors to share with us the bold vision for downtown Rochester.

Three things you’ll love about the new website:

Save the Date: TEDx is coming to Rochester!

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white_1000px_webMark your calendar for TEDxZumbroRiver 2016 to be held on Thursday, May 5 at Autumn Ridge Church.

TEDx is a local gathering where live TED talks and videos previously recorded at TED conferences are shared with the community. TEDx was created in the spirit of TED’s mission: “ideas worth spreading.”

TED and TEDx talks are intended to be transformative, prompting life changes and encouraging new journeys. TEDxZumbroRiver will feature approximately 20 live speakers and showcase local thought leaders and their ideas. “The event will be a great way to showcase the ideas and creativity in our community,” said organizer Ben Creo.

Similar to the forward-thinking discussions generated by TED talks and TEDx events, DMC’s own concept of Discovery Square is a keystone to the DMC economic development strategy and represents the future of biomedical research, education, and technology innovation.

Interested in becoming a TEDxZumbroRiver sponsor? Additional information is available online at the TEDxZumbroRiver website.

 

Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation is “Transforming” the future of health care

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A.J. Montpetit assists with external communications for the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Innovation and he has some weight on his shoulders. “One of the goals of the Center for Innovation (CFI) is to create an online community that demonstrates Mayo Clinic is creating a leading resource for people in health care who have great ideas to improve the health care experience and don’t know where to go with them,” he said.

The role of the CFI center is to “transform the experience and delivery of health and health care with a people/patient-centered focus,” which is not a far cry from Mayo Clinic’s primary value, “the needs of the patient come first.” This type of work embodies the vision of DMC to achieve the highest quality experience for patients, as well as visitors and community members now and into the future.

The CFI is incorporating the very design of health care into existing Mayo Clinic values. Through a human-centered focus, curiosity, and a culture of multidisciplinary teamwork, the Center for Innovation focuses on taking innovative ideas for medical practice and creating real-world solutions to change the patient’s health care experience: “A Medical Transformation.”

Transfore-2015-logoEnter Transform 2015. Transform is an annual event hosted by CFI that was held in late September, and brought more than 800 thought leaders from around the globe to Rochester. Together, they explored innovative ways to tackle the challenges of transforming the future of health care.

KTTC: German project managers discuss millenial city development for Destination Medical Center

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Some Rochester leaders are looking across the pond for Destination Medical Center inspiration in an effort to make Rochester a sustainable and livable city.

Architectural leaders in Hamburg, Germany spoke at Assisi Heights Wednesday about their version of DMC– HafenCity.

HafenCity, a former port area in the outskirts of Hamburg, is being recognized as a city with energy efficient development to create a vibrant urban district that state senator David Senjem hopes can be mirrored here in the MedCity.

Building a Sustainable Energy-Efficient Urban Environment

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The HafenCity Development in Hamburg, Germany is Europe’s DMC without the medical.

The University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment, together with the Sisters of St. Francis, is sponsoring a presentation to discuss the parallels between a unique energy-efficient urban development in Hamburg, Germany with the DMC vision for Rochester.

“Building a Sustainable Energy-Efficient Urban Environment” takes place on October 14, 2015 from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Assisi Height Auditorium at 1001 14th Street NW, Rochester, MN.

HagenCity

In 2000, the German city of Hamburg started an ambitious effort in city redevelopment. With an investment of $11B to date, the city is defining a new energy efficient downtown that will vastly expand the city’s economic vitality. Multiple parallels to Rochester’s own DMC plan include innovative approaches to urban planning, architecture, and energy sustainablility.

Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal: Rochester’s ready to roll

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Two years after the Minnesota Legislature approved Rochester’s $5 billion, 20-year Destination Medical Center initiative, the Mayo Clinic’s hometown is still awaiting the first project to be developed.

But it won’t wait much longer.

Developer Gus Chafoulias plans to break ground in the next few months on a $155 million, full-service Hilton hotel with 264 rooms, 22,700 square feet of retail space and 33 luxury apartments.

The 22-story hotel, called Broadway at Center, is one block from Mayo Clinic and overlooks the Zumbro River. It can’t come soon enough for the DMC, which has pumped up excitement and land prices in Rochester, but so far hasn’t spurred a run on construction.