ROCHESTER — With a decade in the rearview mirror, Destination Medical Center is now looking at the next 10 years, and beyond.

“Part of the genius of DMC is it’s not a one-and-done,” said Patrick Seeb, executive director of Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency. “It’s not like building Reliant Bank Stadium. Over 20 years, we’ll have hundreds of projects.”

Some of those will be a huge success, he said, some will do well in the market, and some will fail. But over the course of 20 years — and with a 20-year commitment by the state of Minnesota, the city of Rochester and DMC itself — the economic initiative will be able to weather the financial ups and downs of two decades and bring cumulative success to Rochester.

What does success look like?

That covers a lot of ground. For example, ensuring the initial investment goal of $5.6 billion in Rochester — both public and private investment — is met will be a measure of success. In fact, Seeb said, that goal has essentially been met with Mayo Clinic’s “Bold. Forward. Unbound. In Rochester” commitment to remake its downtown footprint.

But much of what will show success, he said, is “generational.” That means don’t expect to judge success or failure right away.

One example, Seeb said, is the Link Bus Rapid Transit system that broke ground this month and should be completed by the end of 2026.

The free bus service that links downtown along Second Street Southwest from out near Cascade Lake to a Mayo Clinic parking area along Third Avenue Southeast, Seeb said, will “have a bigger impact on Rochester than people imagine.”

While the bus system will likely see some immediate usage from Mayo Clinic employees and other downtown workers, eventually residents around downtown will realize how it can transport them from one neighborhood, say Slatterly Park, to Thesis Beer Project, or from the Cascade Lake area to Soldiers Field Park. Eventually, it might take commuters and neighbors five to 10 years to really incorporate the bus line into their lives.

“It gets talked about as a Mayo commuter line, and it will certainly function as that, but once it gets established and running, we’ll see how the people of Rochester use it on a daily basis,” Seeb said.

The bigger change, though, will come when entrepreneurs realize that 11,000 people dropped off at Mayo Clinic campus locations makes for a regular and routine target market for some services.

He pointed to the Lime Scooters used by the city. Those were initially a sort of fun curiosity. Now, people regularly use them to get around downtown with more of a purpose.

Investing in the ‘Destination’

While a lot of talk about DMC has to do with health care and transportation infrastructure, another part of success is helping those Mayo Clinic patients find things to do while downtown either for a long day or on an extended stay. Often, some of those 3 million visitors per year to Rochester are here for medical care, and they might have multiple appointments in one day, or several appointments spread over several days. The goal is to get them out of their hotel rooms and offer them something to do.

Seeb said the city would love to see a children’s museum presence downtown, giving families activities that are both cheap and fun.

Some of that already exists, but DMC — and more likely the Rochester Downtown Alliance — need to do a better job of getting the word out to visitors. For example, Seeb said, “There are 72 pieces of public art in downtown. I think we have to do a better job of saying, ‘If you are looking for a way to spend two hours, here’s a walk you can do to see creative pieces.’ Or, ‘Here’s two bookstores — a library and a bookstore.’”

Seeb praised RDA and its leadership for making strides in this area, but admitted there are areas where his organization and RDA can do more. That includes, say, developing literature on walking tours or events that is left at extended-stay hotels frequented by Mayo Clinic patients. Another is to develop and install way-finding signage for downtown destinations.

Businesses big and small

Not every bit of business growth related to DMC involves health care startups and Mayo Clinic expansion.

Amanda Leightner, executive director at Collider Foundation, said that while the COVID pandemic hurt business startups in the downtown area in Rochester, her organization is seeing an upward trajectory of new entrepreneurship.

While some of that has been the natural post-COVID rebound, she said, most has been a growth in business alongside the DMC expansion.

“Small businesses do create more net new jobs,” Leightner said.

The bulk of new businesses coming through the Collider Foundation, Leightner said, are food-related — restaurants and food trucks. Most start out in entrepreneurs’ kitchens before becoming fully realized businesses.

Collider is also seeing digital companies sprout up in Rochester. These, Leightner said, are “digital consulting, what people once did at their full-time jobs.” A lot are niche startups, again, coming from people’s homes where they work for themselves before they might expand.

How far these businesses go, it’s all in the goals of the business owner, Leightner said.

One example she cites is Vyriad, a gene and viral therapy company that started with just a couple of founders and now employs many. Another is Pasquale’s Neighborhood Pizzeria, which has expanded from a restaurant to a distributor of a line of products sold through grocery stores.

“There’s opportunity for people who start as one-person operations,” she said.

Collider, Leightner said, works with entrepreneurs at the early stages of developing their startup businesses. Among its education cohorts, she said, 74% of Collider’s clients are still in business one year after starting up.

“We help them figure out if there’s a market and how they can create revenue, make their business operational and figure out end goals,” she said. “We help guide them with thoughtful questions and experience.”