As head of the Destination Medical Center’s Economic Development Agency, Lisa Clarke is its caretaker, traffic cop and chief cheerleader.
A pair of tennis shoes tucked into her bag, a water bottle at the ready, Lisa Clarke steps into a meeting in a busy morning full of them and drops a well-worn line.
“It’s a good day to be in Rochester,” she says, flashing a broad smile at those in attendance.
The extra shoes come in handy when she’s hurrying through the city’s skyways to her next thing. A packed schedule came with the job, as did a long title: executive director of the Destination Medical Center’s Economic Development Agency.
The Destination Medical Center has been brought up a lot in our area over the past several years, but understanding what goes into it can be overwhelming.
City officials in Rochester have an idea to make that a little easier. Monday, Council Member Nick Campion suggested a DMC “progress report card” of sorts. It would be something put together by the city every few months (2-3) that paints a clearer picture to the public of where funding is at, what projects are in the works and how things are moving along.
Destination Medical Center is about more than new buildings, trolleys and streets.
At a Thursday meeting, the Destination Medical Center Corp. Board took an early look at some of the foundational work that in the coming years will shape patient and visitor experiences in Rochester.
Some Rochester leaders are looking across the pond for Destination Medical Center inspiration in an effort to make Rochester a sustainable and livable city.
Architectural leaders in Hamburg, Germany spoke at Assisi Heights Wednesday about their version of DMC– HafenCity.
HafenCity, a former port area in the outskirts of Hamburg, is being recognized as a city with energy efficient development to create a vibrant urban district that state senator David Senjem hopes can be mirrored here in the MedCity.
Two years after the Minnesota Legislature approved Rochester’s $5 billion, 20-year Destination Medical Center initiative, the Mayo Clinic’s hometown is still awaiting the first project to be developed.
But it won’t wait much longer.
Developer Gus Chafoulias plans to break ground in the next few months on a $155 million, full-service Hilton hotel with 264 rooms, 22,700 square feet of retail space and 33 luxury apartments.
The 22-story hotel, called Broadway at Center, is one block from Mayo Clinic and overlooks the Zumbro River. It can’t come soon enough for the DMC, which has pumped up excitement and land prices in Rochester, but so far hasn’t spurred a run on construction.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith sees three M’s in Rochester’s immediate future. “This coming year — 2016 — is really going to be about marketing, momentum and metrics,” she said during Thursday’s meeting of the Destination Medical Center Corp. board.
As board chairwoman, she said marketing will help sell the potential of DMC, and metrics will help measure future success. Both likely will spur momentum.
Destination Medical Center has long been a plan for Rochester, but so far, many of those plans have been blueprints. Thursday, the Destination Medical Center Corporation Board made a step to bring actual development to the city sooner rather than later.
“People in the community need to see progress for DMC getting underway,” said DMCC board member Bill George.
The board members all agreed 2016 will be a crucial year, and took a big step forward to make sure next year will see some development.
Rochester is entering the first phase of Destination Medical Center implementation, and to guide the building and development to come, the Rochester City Council plans to use design guidelines.
On Wednesday, the council will consider a proposal from the University of Minnesota Metropolitan Design Center to produce the DMC design guidelines.
A key agency in Destination Medical Center plans completed its recruitment Thursday. The DMC Economic Development Agency announced three new hires to fill out its five-member staff.
The Mayo Clinic-formed nonprofit economic development agency will assist the DMC Corporation to implement the goals of DMC plans by developing and marketing assets under DMC plans. The agency will work closely with the city of Rochester, the DMC Corp. and private developers.
Five development projects moved through the Rochester City Council at a Monday evening meeting and the contrast between those with neighborhood support and those without it was clear.
Council members took time to recognize the importance of citizen engagement with developers early in the process of designing and proposing projects that will eventually be vetted by the city council.
“If anything we saw a great contrast of early neighborhood involvement versus late neighborhood involvement,” Council Member Mark Bilderback said.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith sees three M’s in Rochester’s immediate future. “This coming year — 2016 — is really going to be about marketing, momentum and metrics,” she said during Thursday’s meeting of the Destination Medical Center Corp. board.
Destination Medical Center has long been a plan for Rochester, but so far, many of those plans have been blueprints. Thursday, the Destination Medical Center Corporation Board made a step to bring actual development to the city sooner rather than later.