3 takeaways from Destination Medical Center’s plan for downtown Rochester’s next 5 years

ROCHESTER – This past fall, Destination Medical Center officials promised the next few years of growth in downtown Rochester would look like a century’s worth of construction in other cities.

Now DMC staff have unveiled a new five-year plan for how the publicly funded initiative hopes to make that happen. A 178-page report went public last week; DMC officials presented its update to city officials Monday.

Next comes gathering public feedback before the agency finalizes the report in early 2026. Light on specific projects but heavy on vision, the plan outlines how DMC could help Rochester grow into “the economic engine of Minnesota,” according to local officials.

Here are the key takeaways from the report:

Since its founding, DMC has been lauded and derided for the funding it’s spent on public projects — more than $200 million so far — throughout downtown. Many residents are still confused over what DMC actually does, and DMC officials acknowledge they’ve had issues in the past communicating exactly how the initiative helps the community.

To start, DMC is a city, county and state-funded initiative to transform downtown Rochester into an international medical hub with Mayo Clinic as its anchor. To do that, DMC pays for public infrastructure — think utilities, waterlines, street reconstruction, etc. — to make projects happen that boost downtown.

The Minnesota Legislature approved $585 million in combined funding for the initiative in 2013, which can be spent only in the downtown district. DMC officially started in 2015; it receives money over 20 years to spend on infrastructure and is halfway through its lifecycle.

DMC has a better grasp on how it can help Rochester in part because of those accomplishments, according to DMC Executive Director Patrick Seeb. For example, the initiative hadn’t counted on funding housing projects at first but is prioritizing downtown housing opportunities as they come up.

The new plan identifies areas where DMC could help fund projects, from day care centers downtown to more medical labs and research space (think a third Discovery Square, though DMC officials don’t specifically call for a third building.)

It also means supporting newer technologies like health care AI and more advanced facilities such as memory-care institutions. And DMC could even support infrastructure for more grocery stores and attractions like high-tech spas or science museums if officials feel the projects could benefit downtown.

“The update … tries to identify new ways for us to flex, if you will,” Seeb said. “Where do we try to organize community resources, organize our own resources?”

DMC largely funds proposals city staff or developers make, but some on the Rochester City Council want to see the initiative commit more of its resources to city issues.

Catherine Malmberg, DMC’s director of public infrastructure and development strategy, said the initiative is supporting a housing project along 2nd Street SW. that would include four condominiums at affordable prices but developers have typically shied away from similar, larger projects in recent years because of profitability concerns.

“That’s one way DMC is working to help test something, even if it’s starting small right now,” Malmberg said.

Council Member Nick Miller said he’d like to see more on how DMC will measure its future success, while Council Member Dan Doering said he was concerned DMC officials haven’t properly spelled out projects.

Council Chair Randy Schubring said he’d like to see more balance between bringing in more medtech, high-level health care companies and supporting existing businesses downtown.