Month: April 2019

New Hyatt House Breaks Ground in Downtown Rochester

City and Destination Medical Center (DMC) officials, development professionals, and members of the community gathered with developers PEG Companies (PEG) and EKN Development Group (EKN) on April 11 to break ground on the Rochester Hyatt House. This 172-room extended stay hotel is located on the former Legion site in downtown Rochester.

“The DMC legislation has created an excellent opportunity for developers and investors to invest in Rochester, Minnesota and join the vision to be part of the City’s growth as the medical capital of the world,” said Ebbie Nakhjavani, president and chief executive officer of EKN.  “With its elegant design, the Rochester Hyatt House hotel will stand as a shining testament of what can be achieved through collaborative public-private partnership.”

“This new hotel property is a wonderful addition and fills a niche for visitors and patients to Rochester, Minnesota,” said Lisa Clarke, executive director of the DMC EDA. “It’s another great example of the investor and development community taking notice of the tremendous opportunities that exist in Rochester.”

Project leaders regard the property itself as a formative piece of Rochester’s history and paid special tribute to the American Legion, Post #92 – the land’s previous stewards – at the groundbreaking.  This organization served the Mayo Brothers Veterans; Dr. William J. Mayo and Dr. Charles H. Mayo in the early 1900’s.  

The Rochester Hyatt House is slated for completion in summer 2020.

 

Honoring the Rochester American Legion

EKN Development wanted a way to honor and recognize the American Legion in Rochester, Minnesota. When the Rochester Hyatt House opens in summer 2020, it will display a special flag donated by the Rochester American Legion Wm. T. McCoy Post #92. The flag was retired in a ceremony on January 15, 2019. During the ceremony, the Post’s Honor Guard fired rifles and a bugler played Taps for all its fallen members. The shell casings are the blanks that were fired.

Meet the Developer: Titan Development & Investments

With the April 16 opening of the Hilton Downtown Rochester fast approaching, Rochester is preparing to celebrate the completion of one of the first concrete examples of the Destination Medical Center (DMC) initiative. So, it’s probably fitting that the driving force behind the landmark project is a local company with deep roots in the Rochester community – Titan Development & Investments.

DMC recently chatted with Titan Development & Investments leadership to learn more about their long history in Rochester, their upcoming opening of the Hilton hotel, and a look into the future.

 

Titan has a long history of being a successful developer. What do you attribute that to?

Titan has always had a diverse portfolio because we are able to strategically shift to different asset classes as the market changes on a local and national level. One of the big reasons that we are able to be this aggressive and continually deliver superior results is that we have a dedicated team focusing on the entire process including financing, planning, and construction management.

Innovation and Entrepreneurism Highlighted During Minnesota DEED Commissioner Visit to Rochester

MN DEED Commissioner tours One Discovery Square Pictured left to right: Chris Frank, Mortenson, MN DEED Commissioner Steve Grove, Senator Carla Nelson, Patrick Seeb, DMC EDA, Lisa Clarke, DMC EDA, Natalie Siderius, MN DEED

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Steve Grove recently stopped in Rochester to meet with Destination Medical Center (DMC) leaders, to tour innovation sectors in the city, and to discuss new startup incentives with Rochester’s entrepreneurs.

Grove, a native of Northfield, Minn., built his career in the private tech sector, spending time at both Google and YouTube before relocating back to Minnesota with his family. After being appointed DEED Commissioner by Governor Walz this January, he’s now tasked to revitalize Minnesota’s innovation economy to help make the state a magnet for top tech talent.

As part of this plan, Governor Walz issued a $9 million budget proposal for a Minnesota Innovation Collaborative (MIC) to encourage startup growth in the state. The MIC would utilize grants and other resources to help lower risks associated with starting high growth potential businesses, including early grant funding, R&D vouchers, an entrepreneur benefits package, and enhanced educational opportunities. Walz’s proposal also includes reinstatement of the Angel Tax Credit incentive to encourage investment into early stage Minnesota startups. If approved, MIC would be administered by DEED.

During his meeting with DMC leadership, the commissioner saw the growth in downtown Rochester and learned how the DMC initiative is serving as a successful model of economic development for the state. In a separate meeting with local entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial ecosystem builders, government officials, and DMC staff, the commissioner shared information about the Governor’s priorities related to entrepreneurism and learned more about the local innovation community. As part of the visit, Grove also toured One Discovery Square and other innovation hotspots in downtown Rochester, including Collider Coworking and the Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator.

Grove’s visit highlights the growing interest in Rochester and DMC as a success story in economic development and as a major technology hub within the state. If approved, MIC could have major implications for entrepreneurship and startup growth in the Discovery Square sub-district.

“It was great to have Commissioner Grove see for himself how the DMC initiative is catalyzing economic development in Rochester, and how we can serve as a model for other Minnesota communities interested in developing similar public-private partnerships for growth,” said Lisa Clarke, executive director for DMC EDA. “With One Discovery Square opening this year, Rochester is entering into a new era of innovation and entrepreneurship. We are positioned to benefit from the MIC initiative.”