Mortenson Co. is breaking ground this month on phase two of the Destination Medical Center’s Discovery Square project in Rochester.
The new five-story, 125,000-square-foot structure is expected to open in mid-2022, following the opening of One Discovery Square in 2019. The buildings are designed to help foster life science research and innovation in a city well known for its medical research and patient care.
Discovery Square 2 is intended to accelerate the translation of medical research “from bench to bedside” and will feature tech-forward and flexible tenant spaces, said Mortenson Development executive Brent Webb.
“Developing a health care innovation campus with this facility increases the likelihood of and opportunity for collaboration between researchers, educators, clinicians, entrepreneurs and others,” he said.
The new building, designed by RSP Architects, will sit adjacent to and be linked with One Discovery Square. Both buildings will be located inside the 16-block Discovery Square sub-district.
Colliers International will serve as the building’s leasing agent and oversee tenant recruitment along with Mortenson and the Destination Medical Center’s (DMC) Economic Development Agency.
The agency is charged with overseeing a multibillion-dollar and 20-year plan to transform Rochester into even more of a global destination for health and wellness.
The project is attracting a host of new developers, investors and entrepreneurs who also focus on health and medical concerns.
The DMC, with the Mayo Clinic as its heart, is the largest public-private initiative being developed in the state. It attracted near $280 million in private development funds last year.
Once construction is completed, Discovery Square 2 will be the 11th structure in the state and the first in Rochester designed for “wired certification,” a commercial real estate rating signaling that a building has superior technology and strong internet capabilities.
City officials are excited about the project, which is seen as one more economic development boost to the region — and one capable of keeping industry there ticking along despite the pandemic’s economic fallout.
“The addition of Discovery Square 2 reinforces Rochester’s position as a global leader in health and a destination city for innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Lisa Clarke, executive director of the DMC Economic Development Agency.
The redevelopment plan as a whole received a setback at the beginning of the month when Mayo Clinic halted plans to expand its signature Gonda Building.
If the entire DMC plan is successful, though, the Discovery Square strategy should serve as catalysts for both economic development and the recruitment of new businesses and talent to Rochester, Clarke said.
She noted that Discovery Square 2’s location — near the corner of 4th Street and SW. 2nd Avenue — puts it close to the Mayo Clinic campus, near the Gonda Building and the Mayo Clinic’s Guggenheim, Hilton and Stabile Buildings.
The project is also within walking distance to Rochester’s historic Southwest neighborhood and downtown shops, restaurants, bars, and coffee shops.
DMC organizers are renovating the public Peace Plaza on 2nd Street and 1st Avenue.