Mayo Clinic's $5 billion transformation of downtown Rochester takes early steps with draft impact report

Jeff Kiger, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·3 min read
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May 22—ROCHESTER — Mayo Clinic recently filed a 348-page draft report about how its $5 billion "Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Rochester" project could change downtown and impact everything from traffic and parking to wildlife and water quality.

T he draft of the Alternative Urban Areawide Review — AUAR — report was filed for city staff to review on May 20. The massive and wide-ranging report, which combines the traditional environmental assessment worksheet and environmental impact statement review processes, includes studies of traffic patterns, details about the habitat of the rusty patched bumblebee, notices of contaminated soil, proposed parking plans and more.

No building permits connected to the AUAR may be approved until this process is complete.

"Mayo Clinic has identified redevelopment that reflects the changing needs of their downtown campus. The goal is to update the downtown campus to include state of-the-art spaces that integrate digital technology to serve patients, staff, and the community into the future. Mayo Clinic is proposing to redevelop the area with approximately 1,970,000-square-feet of medical institutional and 90,000-square-feet of electric generating land uses," according to the document.

This is the latest step in Mayo Clinic's project to redevelop 19 acres of downtown. The redevelopment will include demolishing the Ozmun, Damon and former Lourdes High School structures. In their place, Mayo Clinic plans to build four new complexes including one labeled as the "Hospital of the Future" and expand a power plant. The plan includes closing stretches of Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue to car and bicycle traffic.

The draft filing follows an earlier review of an AUAR scoping document in January, which was adopted by the Rochester City Council in April. It was then published for 30 days in Minnesota's weekly EQB (Environmental Quality Board) Monitor publication.

Ed Caples, interim planning supervisor for Rochester's Community Development department, explained where the document is currently in the review process.

"As of May 22, 2024, Mayo Clinic's draft AUAR is in the two-week review period conducted by City teammates. Once City teammates have completed their thorough review of the document, comments will be provided for Mayo Clinic and their team to revise the document before it is submitted to the Environmental Quality Board for the 30-day public comment period," wrote Caples.

The various state and regional agencies will study the draft AUAR and provide comments. After possible revisions, the draft will go before the Rochester City Council to adopt a Record of Decision. This Record of Decision is published in the EQB Monitor.

Following that process, a revised final AUAR document is again studied by city staff for a final two-week review. State and regional agencies, like the Department of Natural Resources, Pollution Control Agency and the State Archaeologist, then have 10 days to file an objection.

Then the document returns to the city for its final approval, which clears the way for the building permit process.

The first phase of the Unbound project is expected to begin this August and be completed by August 2025, according to a timeline in the draft AUAR document. The second phase is slated to start in August 2025 and conclude in January 2029.