Roughly two years after announcing its multibillion economic development initiative, the proposed plan for Destination Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., has been released.
Highlighted below are 10 things to know about the project, which is slated to transform Rochester, Minn., into an international medical hub. All 
information and images are from a draft of the DMC development plan, which is nearly 700 pages.
1. In 2013, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and the Minnesota Legislature decided there was a compelling public interest for the state to assist the Mayo Clinic and various stakeholders in developing the DMC and creating the financing tools and public governance structure necessary to make the initiative happen. In June 2013, legislation doing so was signed into law by Governor Dayton and took effect immediately.
2. Included in the DMC proposal are plans for a state-of-the-art research facilities, a Mayo Civic Center expansion, a visitor's center, integrated care pavilion, wellness center, residential housing, new streets, restaurants, theaters, a public market, transit center, and green spaces.
3. DMC will be comprised of six sub-districts named The Heart of the City, Discovery Square, Downtown Waterfront, Central Station, St. Mary's Place and UMR/Recreational Area.
4. The completed project calls for 6.8 million square feet to be dedicated to health and wellness space and more than 1 million square feet dedicated to biomed-tech research and development space. Other areas included in the final plan include commercial office space (310,000 square feet), hotel rooms and hospitality space (1,380 square feet), residential units (2,850 square feet), education space (354,000 square feet) and retail, dining and entertainment space (320,000).
5. In total, developers expect to obtain more than $585 million in funding for DMC, including $455 million in combined general infrastructure aid, $116 million in combined transit infrastructure aid and $14 million in sales tax exemption on the project's construction materials. The plan forecasts this funding will attract more than $5.6 billion in private investments to Rochester.
6. Sustainability will play a huge role in the planning and construction of DMC as developers work toward the goal of reducing energy consumption by 25 percent below 2012 levels by 2030 and reducing total waste generated by 30 percent below 2012 levels by 2030. Another target proposed in the plan is reducing DMC-wide emissions per square foot by 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
7. The project will likely create approximately 35,000 to 45,000 new jobs over time. Included in the plans for DMC are goals to develop strategies to attract new businesses to the DMC market, including small business enterprise, minority business enterprise and women business enterprise participation.
8. Over the next 35 years, DMC is expected to generate between $7.5 and $8 billion in new net tax revenue.
9. As a result of the DMC development, there will be spike in the demand for bio-medical-tech support in Rochester, so the plan projects the city will see the millennial population grow over the next several years.
10. Concerning DMC's governance, Mayo Clinic will be the primary driver of private investment. Mayo will also participate in DMC decisionmaking through its representation on the DMC Corporation Board, and Mayo also appointed the DMC Board of Directors of the Economic Development Agency. The six members of the EDA board are:
- Jerry Bell, former president, Minnesota Twins
- Lisa Clarke, executive director, DMC EDA and community engagement division chair, Mayo Clinic department of public affairs
- Patricia Simmons, MD, chair of the EDA board, DMC physician lead for Mayo Clinic
- Gary Smith, Olmsted County resident, president of Rochester Area Economic Development Inc.
- Wendy Wood, Rochester resident, senior investment manager at University of Minnesota Foundation Investment Advisors
- Srilatta Zaheer, PhD, dean of University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management
