With a number of new housing and retail developments and a burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit, Rochester is booming. And Destination Medical Center (DMC) is in the middle of it all.
2016 brought new developments in each of the DMC sub-districts, including housing, hotels, retail, restaurants and other businesses, that will inspire dynamic places to live, work, and play, filled with culture and recreation. 2017 is certain to bring more of the same.
More signs of development in DMC’s Downtown Waterfront sub-district have taken shape. The Lofts at Mayo Park, a 29-unit housing development, will soon offer new housing options – short- and long-term, furnished and unfurnished – to visitors and residents of Rochester.
DMC Corporation board members, DMC Economic Development Agency (EDA) staff, and city leaders were given a tour of the site in late October.
Projects would add over 270 apartment units and 200 hotel rooms to DMC district
ROCHESTER, Minn. (Oct. 27, 2016) – The Destination Medical Center Corporation (DMCC) Board of Directors today received a preliminary view of two significant mixed-use project proposals aimed at building hotel, retail, and residential housing options in key sub-districts within the DMC District. Board members also received an update regarding transportation planning efforts and approved the DMCC’s funding request for 2017.
Titan Real Estate and Investments and the Opus Group provided initial background on a proposed 156-unit apartment complex that would be built in the Discovery Square district upon a First Ave. surface parking lot. The development would include retail and parking within, as well as a green roof and pedestrian access to downtown. Titan, a local company, was the developer of “Broadway at Center,” one of two DMC-approved projects.
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.
Partnerships are integral to the success of the DMC vision, so last week a variety of investors and innovators came together to explore how we can advance development and improve healthcare.
DMC could be taking physical shape in less than a year.
The law firm of Larkin Hoffman, which opened an office in Rochester about a year ago, hosts a Real Estate Forum each year. With the DMC initiative touted as the primary development project in the state, the Minneapolis-based group decided to hold this year’s event in Rochester and make DMC the focus of their 2016 real estate discussion.
Four transportation consulting groups gathered in Rochester this week to observe traffic conditions and transit operations on a typical weekday and, ultimately, advance the DMC vision through first-hand knowledge of existing capabilities and future needs.
The DMC Plan identifies the need to create an integrated system of parking and transit options to better facilitate pedestrian and bicycle options and create efficient, healthy, high-amenity options that can accommodate a doubling of downtown jobs. “Infrastructure is the backbone of our DMC planning, with transportation being a critical component,” says Lisa Clarke, DMC EDA executive director. A world-class transportation network would not only improve livability for Rochester’s residents and businesses but also attract the workforce talent required to achieve the DMC vision.
ST. PAUL — A key Destination Medical Center leader voiced support today for an effort to build a privately funded high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities.
Lisa Clarke, executive director of DMC’s Economic Development Agency, told a crowd of civic leaders gathered at Town and Country Club in St. Paul that improving the connection between Rochester and the Twin Cities is critical. That is especially the case as the $5.5 billion DMC initiative aimed at transforming Rochester into a global destination for health care moves ahead.
The DMC vision moved another step closer to becoming a reality today when Mayo Clinic announced today that it will collaborate with M.A. Mortenson, a Minneapolis-based real estate development and construction firm, on the DMC sub-district Discovery Square.
Over the next 20 years, Mayo Clinic will add 2 million square feet of space in Discovery Square for research, education, and product development.
“With [Mortenson’s] experience, they will be a fantastic partner with Mayo to spearhead the development of the six-block Discovery Square, the bioscience research, education and medical innovation campus that is the core of the DMC,” says Lt. Governor Tina Smith, DMC Corporation Board Chair. “Discovery Square, which will include Mayo and other private businesses, is a key milestone for DMC.”