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The Rochester City Council is getting its first look at a proposed update to a strategic plan for a $5.6 billion economic development project meant to boost Rochester and Mayo Clinic.
Destination Medical Center was launched a decade ago to make Rochester a more appealing place for people to work, live and visit. Today, some of those original goals are well under way to being realized. And Mayo Clinic has committed another $5 billion to build a new hospital.
DMC’s executive director Patrick Seeb said the 10-year mark is an important milestone.
“We have recently had the commitment by Mayo Clinic for its… expansion,” he said. “[The update] draws on those successes but still looks forward to a very bold future beyond this.”
The plan presented to council members builds on Rochester’s reputation for being a place for wellness and health. At the same time, more resources will be put into attracting new health tech businesses to the city — and nurturing health care adjacent innovations spinning out from Mayo.
Over the last decade, job growth in downtown Rochester has massively outpaced the state’s.
The vast majority of those jobs have been in health care, though there’s been growth in non-health care jobs, too. Seeb said diversifying the employer base and talent pool is critical to Mayo and the city's future.
“Those companies are going to need people who are good at marketing and communications. They're going to need people who are good at cleaning lab space,” he said. “They're going to need a whole ecosystem of talent."
Seeb said that one big recent win is the imminent opening of a new shared lab space downtown in a new building dedicated to medical innovation. Doctors and researchers making discoveries inside Mayo Clinic can use this space to further develop their ideas without having to build costly lab space.
The proposed strategic plan update highlights areas where DMC has made its mark.
More than 1,600 new housing units have been built downtown, doubling the number of people who live there. Seeb said new residents have made Rochester’s downtown more vibrant, and they support businesses.
With all that new development has come additional tax revenue. DMC has a goal of adding upwards of $8 billion in new net tax revenue over 35 years. A decade in, about $1.6 billion has been added to the tax base.
Meanwhile, University of Minnesota Rochester saw its highest enrollment ever. Students there serve as an important pipeline of talent for Mayo.
Seeb said Mayo’s $5 billion expansion downtown will be a helpful selling point as DMC works to attract new businesses and talent to Rochester in the next decade.
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