Destination Medical Center (DMC) and the City of Rochester announced the distribution of $100,000 in funding to 55 Rochester businesses through the Keep It Local, COVID-19 Innovators Grant Program. The grant program assists small businesses that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are working with other small business to respond to those challenges.
Interested in learning more about transportation? Discovery Walk? Heart of the City? Come to Thursdays on First & 3rd on June 28. Destination Medical Center (DMC) and other community partners will come together on Historic Third Street to provide an interactive look inside the plans and progress taking place in the downtown Rochester.
A happy, healthy city that’s walkable, has plenty of parks, and offers ample public transportation. Sounds like a great place to live, doesn’t it?
Future City is a project-based learning program for middle school students where they can explore, imagine, create, and ultimately build a city of the future. Together, the students design the city, research and write its description, build the physical model, develop a project plan, and introduce the city to the judges during a seven-minute presentation.
For the past fifteen years, the Minneapolis and St. Paul Chambers of Commerce have been bringing together thought leaders from across the state of Minnesota to explore and study issues in urban regions of the country. Last year, the group traveled to Seattle, while previous years have brought them to San Francisco, Denver, Portland, Austin, Charlotte, Atlanta, Toronto, San Diego, and Boston.
This week, members of the DMC Economic Development Agency leadership joined nearly 100 other civic, business, and philanthropic leaders from across the state to participate in the 15th Annual InterCity Leadership Visit to Baltimore.
A few months ago, DMC developed the design process for the public realm/public infrastructure for the St. Marys Place sub-district and 2nd Street Corridor. With the data collection phase complete, we recently initiated the next step in the process: the Design Sprint.
This process called for teams of stakeholders – property owners, neighborhood leaders, Mayo Clinic representatives, and city staff – to work with a team of designers to develop concepts that address issues such as pedestrian circulation (think streetscape, skyways, and tunnels), parking, and neighborhood connections.
Located downtown in Rochester’s historic Conley-Maass Building, Collider Core recently opened its doors for business.
The co-working hub can be found in DMC’s Discovery Square sub-district and is designed to provide both fledgling and established entrepreneurs with a unique environment where they can work, connect, and learn.
Collider founder Jamie Sundsbak explains the difference between Collider and Collider Core. “Collider is the entrepreneurial ecosystem – think BioAM, but for all entrepreneurship in the Rochester area,” he explains. “Core is the physical hub – a hybrid of a traditional coworking and business incubator space.” In short, Core provides the Collider community with its operating space.
A cornerstone of the Destination Medical Center plan is to position Rochester as a leader in the biotechnology and medical technology fields. The development of Discovery Square – a sub-district dedicated to advancing game-changing ideas in patient care – is a critical step in reaching this goal.
The groundwork is already there. Medical innovators have long flocked to Rochester to collaborate with the Mayo Clinic on new technologies that are making health care better and more efficient.
Preventice Solutions is among the companies that saw promise in collaboration early on. Emily Benner, who is Preventice’s Senior Vice President of Research and Development, sat down with DMC to talk about how her company is changing the way doctors care for cardiac patients, and what Discovery Square means for innovators.
The Mayo Clinic has been awarded $142 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to create a research repository of biologic samples to advance precision medicine.
The grant complements the Destination Medical Center’s efforts to position Rochester – and specifically Discovery Square – as an international hub for medical innovation.
“Discovery Square is the economic engine for DMC. It represents the future of biomedicine, research, and technology innovation and is anticipated to be one of the largest drivers of job growth in Rochester,” says Lisa Clarke, executive director of the DMC Economic Development Agency.
When the University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) opened its doors nearly ten years ago, it created a truly one-of-a-kind learning experience. Hands-on engagement with some of the top medical professionals in the world has allowed students to play a key role in the ever-changing world of healthcare. Having students in the Heart of the City has brought a vibrant energy to the community.
UMR is an anchor in the DMC Development Plan for the Recreation District and lies adjacent to Discovery Square. These sub-districts will drive the future of biomedical, research, education, and technology innovation in both the region and the state.
Dr. Lori Carrell is UMR’s Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Student Development. Together with the leadership at UMR, Dr. Carrell is working to leverage the assets of America’s City for Health – from buildings and infrastructure to relationships and knowledge – to enhance learning and development of UMR’s students. DMC sat down with Dr. Carrell to reflect on her time at UMR so far.
I was greeted to Rochester upon arrival with a bit of a head start than most. My wife (girlfriend at the time) presented to me a 5-page, front and back, laminated guide to all things Rochester. It showed me where the closest coffee shop was, where the Library is found, what events are good to attend, and maps on how to get around. Her passion and love of this city was infectious, and now I find myself with that same passion and zeal for this town. I want to share it to every new resident, nurse, and student, as fervently as an evangelist for this fair city.
One of the key factors that has kept me here is not just what this mini-metropolis offers now, it’s the potential that it holds to be an even greater city. We find ourselves at a time where we are limited only by our imaginations, and the power to collaboratively build the future of this city.
I look at this community as one that is like none found anywhere else, and is truly a gem to the state, and the country. For those of my generation, and younger, change is a normal part of life. We haven’t known a life of stability like those before us, and change, to us, brings something better and innovative. My wish is that these changes bring us together as a community, and we work together to build something great for ourselves, our children, and their children. I am excited to be a part of the change that is happening, and proud to call Rochester home.
What excites you about DMC and the future of Rochester? Join the conversation by adding your comments below.
AJ Montpetit is a social media consultant.