ROCHESTER — The state’s Destination Medical Center Corp. board plans to discuss public and private roles as it considers funding for infrastructure projects connected to
Mayo Clinic’s $5 billion “Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester” expansion plan.
“There is not yet a position of the full board on this,” Board Chairwoman Pamela Wheelock said of what DMC funds should support. “We need a fuller presentation of all of that and to talk through our differing perspectives of how we prioritize the DMC funds.”
While the board plans to have that discussion in February, it approved adding $1.6 million to the 2025 DMC spending plan to address projects connected to Mayo Clinic’s plans during its meeting Thursday.
The funding, which will be added to $1 million already in the 2025 budget as a placeholder for future city design and planning efforts, is expected to address city needs related to
Mayo Clinic’s plans for a parking ramp west of the Methodist Hospital campus.
Rochester Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser said the city hopes to upgrade sewer infrastructure and address impacts to
as Mayo Clinic starts its work early next year.
While such investments typically take years of planning, Wheelock pointed out Mayo Clinic’s plans provide an opportunity to address future infrastructure needs without added neighborhood inconvenience and city cost.
DMC Economic Development Agency Executive Director Patrick Seeb said efforts are already underway to develop proposals for additional work alongside Mayo Clinic in an effort to take advantage of the private investment and reduce public inconveniences.
“There will be opportunities to optimize that disruption to achieve other objectives we have from a civic point of view,” he said, noting that will include underground work, as well as creating additional street-level amenities for public use.
Steinhauser said developers have already started expressing interest in areas outside the Mayo Clinic boundaries, which will likely fuel the need for added underground infrastructure that could otherwise be a city expense. Using DMC funds alongside the Mayo Clinic work would reduce a potential local tax burden.
DMCC board member RT Rybak said it will also reduce future neighborhood inconvenience by coordinating construction.
At the same time, he and other board members echoed Wheelock’s call for a broader discussion related to planning and oversight connected to future DMC funding of city projects.
“How we navigate this long term, we need that discussion,” Rybak said, pointing to the board’s complicated role in the work alongside Mayo Clinic’s private investment.
The state board and Rochester City Council have shared oversight duties when it comes to spending the anticipated $585 million in public funds provided for the
Steinhauser said the discussion of public investment will extend beyond the roughly 20 city blocks being disrupted by the “Bold. Forward. Unbound.” project. She said the city is looking at a 30-block area in connection to the Mayo Clinic expansion.
Rochester City Council President Brooke Carlson, who is also a DMCC board member, said the broader examination is important to create desired connections to adjacent neighborhoods and downtown businesses and amenities.
“It does add vibrancy to our downtown and really make what we are trying to achieve here together with Mayo more appealing and successful for people in our community and visiting our community,” she said, noting she will not be part of the February discussion since she is leaving her elected office at the end of the year.
The Rochester City Council will be asked on Monday to approve the $1.6 million change to the 2025 DMC spending plan.
In other business on Thursday, the DMCC board:
- Approved funding for three preservation projects in the Downtown Historic District. They are $125,288 for adaptive reuse efforts at 330 S. Broadway Ave., $202,274 for building and safety upgrades at 400 S. Broadway Ave. and $380,985 for building and safety upgrades at 212 First Ave. SW.
- Approved a $13.7 million contingency fund for the planned Link Bus Rapid Transit project. The contingency requirement for the $143 million project is required to access $84 million in federal funds, and Thursday’s agreement sets parameters for spending the contingency funds with required future board approval.