There are six unique sub-districts being developed as part of the DMC initiative, including the much-anticipated Heart of the City.
Flanked by Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota-Rochester, this sub-district will serve as the true heart and soul of the city: a thriving, walkable oasis that pairs inviting, open spaces with health, retail, hospitality, and leisure.
On Tuesday, June 27, you can be a part of the future of this critical sub-district.
2016 brought a multitude of new ideas and excitement to downtown Rochester with the temporary installation of 16 prototypes at the first ever PlaceMakers | Rochester Prototyping Festival.
Since the September festival, which addressed “Health and the Built Environment,” the community is beginning to see more examples of urban prototyping taking place.
Progress continued in the Heart of the City today as the Community Advisory Committee made its recommendation for the team charged with designing the DMC sub-district’s public space.
That recommendation is RSP Architects, a Minneapolis-based architectural firm with offices in Rochester, Phoenix, and other locations, and includes Coen Partners (Twin Cities), which will serve as lead landscape architect; 9.Square (Rochester), which will provide urban design, architecture, planning, and community engagement; HR&A Advisors (New York), which will provide open space development, management, and strategy services; and Kimley-Horn (St. Paul and Rochester), which will provide civil engineering, transportation, and DMC plan continuity.
Nature, connectedness, and accessibility.
In twenty minutes, those are the three words more than 100 Rochester community members settled on to describe what they believe makes a healthy city.
The rapid-fire brainstorming event was part of a Community Conversation About Prototyping, a public event hosted by Destination Medical Center, Rochester Downtown Alliance, and the Rochester Art Center. It featured Our City co-founders and prototyping festival organizers Ray Boyle and Jake Levitas.
Collaboration, commitment, and engagement are what will help us all achieve the collective vision for the future of Rochester, but, according to Jenna Bowman, executive director of the Rochester Downtown Alliance (RDA), the people, places, and experiences are what truly shape our community’s personality.
