Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic plans to add 2 million square feet of research space in less than 20 years as part of its plan to build up the downtown clinic as a destination medical center, according to the Star Tribune.
Under the plan, which Mayo Clinic announced Tuesday, the health system will build an urban bioresearch campus that will focus on discovering new cures to diseases as private researchers work with Mayo Clinic physicians on the medical frontlines, said President and CEO John Noseworthy, MD, according to the report.
According to Dr. Noseworthy, there is high demand in the private sector for more space dedicated to medical research
The clinic's current footprint spans 15 million square feet, including 1.3 million square feet of research space on Mayo-owned land in a six-block area of Rochester. The area is known as "Discovery Square" under the destination medical center plan.
The bioresearch campus will encompass a broad range of subjects, including genomics, regenerative medicine and biotechnology. He touted he clinic's research accomplishments in 2015, saying it had a $662 million research budget for the year, started 2,723 new studies and had research published in thousands of journal articles, Dr. Noseworthy said, according to the report.
Mayo Clinic is seeking a developer to oversee the project. It expects to break ground next year. As of June 8, no specific building plans have been presented to the city, according to the report.