Construction begins on 2nd Street Alatus project

Across the Destination Medical Center (DMC) District, a variety of development projects are underway, lending to an endlessly changing Rochester skyline. Now, with financing and approvals in place, construction of a new apartment community is underway at the intersection of 2nd Street SW and 14th Avenue SW in the St. Marys Place sub-district.

Alatus LLC, a Minneapolis-based company, will develop the $125 million mixed-use building on 2.77 acres across from Mayo Clinic’s St. Marys Hospital campus where The Brentwood (formerly The Blondell) and Ray-Mar Motel once stood.

The yet-to-be-named 13-story tower, with its 310 apartments and 37 townhomes, will be home to nearly 350 families in the historic Folwell neighborhood. The ground level of the building will include vibrant, pedestrian-friendly spaces including restaurants and retail, with office space and additional retail planned for the second floor. Amenities include a rooftop pool and indoor sauna, outdoor kitchen and grilling stations, fire pits, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and a year-round dog spa. The site will also add additional parking to the sub-district.

“DMC, the City of Rochester, and the community presented an opportunity for us to create a lifetime asset next to an already world-renowned medical facility in a truly wonderful city – it was not an opportunity we could pass on,” says Chris Osmundson, Alatus Development Director.

Osmundson credits collaboration and teamwork in getting the project off the ground. “Efforts such as this are tremendously difficult to execute,” he explains. “The community and business stakeholders in Rochester, the various entities in the City of Rochester, Olmsted County, and Destination Medical Center, and our partners deserve most of the credit. Without motivated and inspired leaders in each of those institutions, these projects cannot happen.”

With construction underway on the signature building in Discovery Square, the Titan Hilton on Broadway, and several others around the District, 2018 is looking to be a busy year for development in Rochester.

“Major projects like these will be long-time assets to this community,” says DMC Economic Development Agency Executive Director Lisa Clarke. “They also validate that investors and developers – local, state, and national – believe in the future of Rochester as a global destination for wellness.”

The Alatus project is expected to be complete in late 2019 or early 2020. To see more developments taking place throughout the DMC District, check out the interactive maps page on the DMC website.