Build Me Up: Building a Destination Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota

The City of Rochester, Minnesota is home to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, and the city is booming with economic growth. At the heart of it all is the Destination Medical Center, or DMC, initiative. This $5.6 billion dollar economic development plan is the largest in Minnesota’s history and is positioning Rochester as a global destination for health and wellness.

The City of Rochester welcomes over 3 million visitors annually, and DMC’s Heart of the City project is revamping downtown Rochester to create a unique and engaging gathering space for residents and visitors alike. As the “front door” to the Mayo Clinic, Heart of the City includes enhanced safety measures, greater accessibility, more trees, interactive art displays and water features, and a family-friendly space to gather in the downtown area.

On the latest episode of KA’s Build Me Up podcast, DMC’s Community Engagement and Experience Director Jamie Rothe, the City of Rochester’s Development Director Josh Johnsen, and Kraus-Anderson Project Superintendent Troy Dale discuss the Heart of the City project and the future of the City of Rochester.

Investing in the City of Rochester

Rochester is a booming city tucked within the rural communities of southern Minnesota. According to the latest Census, it is the third-largest city in Minnesota, just behind Minneapolis and St. Paul. The City sees it as a unique opportunity for growth, and the DMC initiative is invested in bringing more housing, more business, and stimulating the economic impact of downtown Rochester. While they get millions of visitors to the Mayo Clinic each year, they found that patients are only spending about 30% of their time in Rochester within the Mayo Clinic. They wanted to invest in the surrounding area for residents and visitors alike.

Prioritizing the Community

The Heart of the City project touches some of the most highly trafficked areas of downtown, and extra care and planning went into ensuring that local business was not disrupted and the community was well-informed on construction updates and changes. But everything changed when the COVID-19 pandemic began surging just as the project was set to break ground in March 2020. While there was much uncertainty at that time, the team forged ahead with added precautions.

The team’s top priority was limiting disruptions to the community. Using a microphasing strategy, they broke the project up into 17 phases. Their mantra throughout the process was to think differently, and from the City to the subcontractors, everyone approached it with an open mind. From start to finish, the team stepped up in ways above and beyond. They shuffled garbage cans at 5:30am when the garbage truck didn’t have access. They coordinated with local restaurants to limit construction noise over the lunch hour so people could still enjoy patio dining. And when local businesses were getting large shipments in time for the holiday rush, they helped unload. Troy even assisted a senior drugstore owner in getting to her store when construction was impacting the storefront.

The entire project keeps the City of Rochester as a top priority. As each phase completed, they opened it for the public to enjoy. Construction is expected to be completed this fall and will undoubtedly leave an impact in the community. To learn more about the Heart of the City project, listen to the latest episode of Build Me Up. You can subscribe to Build Me Up wherever you listen to podcasts.