Endorses new marketing effort to attract remote workers
(Rochester, Minn.) February 3, 2021 – At its first board meeting of 2021, the Destination Medical Center Corporation (DMCC) Board acknowledged continued progress and that 2020 was a ‘good year’ despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
DMCC Board members were presented with updates on DMC priorities, including Heart of the City, Discovery Square and transportation.
The Heart of the City Phase One public realm project is expected to be completed in summer of 2021. During construction, significant efforts have been made to minimize impacts on nearby businesses.
In the Discovery Square sub-district, One Discovery Square is leased at nearly 100 percent by tenants including Mayo Clinic, University of Minnesota Rochester, Epic, Philips, Boston Scientific, WuXi Diagnostics, RION and Café Steam. Discovery Square 2, an expansion of DMC’s healthcare innovation campus, began construction in fall of 2020. Several restaurants, childcare, retail and life science businesses have opened in the sub-district since the start of the DMC initiative.
Planning continues for the Rochester Rapid Transit system, an approximately three-mile bus rapid transit route, that in its first phase will run from a west transit village to downtown Rochester with seven stations. A group of community co-designers is helping guide discussion on inclusive and accessible station design.
“This matters a lot, the idea that we can diversify the economy of Rochester, and this isn’t just about dollars but about community building,” said DMCC Board Chair R.T. Rybak.
In a preview of marketing efforts, the DMCC Board endorsed a new marketing initiative to attract remote workers to the greater Rochester, Minnesota area. As many companies across the country will continue to have employees work remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic, DMC plans to position Rochester, home of Mayo Clinic, as a top choice to live and work.
“Cost of living, recreation, education, proximity to urban amenities, an international airport, and of course the obvious – healthcare, make Rochester and the region an attractive choice for remote workers,” said Patrick Seeb, executive director, DMC Economic Development Agency. “We look forward to sharing the Rochester story and why our quality of life can’t be beat.”
Following the board meeting, the DMCC Board was joined by the Rochester City Council, Olmsted County Board of Commissioners and the DMC Economic Development Agency board and their leadership staff for a collaborative session focused on how to attain and sustain shared economic prosperity and community health in a post-pandemic world. Each organization shared their COVID-19 response to date, and then heard from HR&A Advisors, an economic advisory firm that prepared DMC’s COVID-19 economic impact analysis in late 2020.
HR&A recommends continued collaboration to develop future economic development strategies that support existing local businesses, prioritize public infrastructure, reuse excess real estate capacity creatively, diversify the economy, support development proactively and attract work-from-anywhere talent.
The next DMCC Board Meeting is May 20, 2021 at 9:30 a.m.