Historically, the Mayo Clinic has served as the face of healthcare in Rochester, Minn. Now, Rochester will expand its healthcare offerings with a plan to build the city into a destination medical center, according to TwinCities.com.
Board members of the Destination Medical Center Corp., a public nonprofit organization charged with overseeing the planning and implementation of destination medical center initiatives, approved two new projects in Rochester to improve its standing as a destination medical center. Here are five things to know about the projects.
1. The first project approved by the board is the construction of a Hilton hotel with special amenities specifically geared toward a medical clientele. According to the report, the four-star hotel will be 23 stories high and located on the corner of Broadway and Center Street. The Hilton will have unique features, such as places for in-building blood draws for patients of Mayo Clinic. Construction of the new hotel will start in the coming weeks.
2. The second project is the purchase of Chateau Theatre in downtown Rochester. Most recently, the Chateau Theatre building was used as a Barnes and Noble bookstore. How the space will be used has not yet been determined.
3. The Hilton project is projected to cost $140 million, and the Chateau Theatre building was purchased for $6 million. According to the DMC, the entire cost of the hotel will be covered by private investors. The city of Rochester and the Mayo Clinic contributed $1.5 million and $500,000, respectively, for the purchase of Chateau Theatre.
4. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) signed legislation for the DMC initiative in 2013, which set up the 20-year project that is expected to create 30,000 new jobs.
5. Most of the funding for DMC comes from $5.5 billion in private investments. State and local governments have committed $585 million.