After two years of planning and dreaming, the city of Rochester took its first concrete steps last week in the "Destination Medical Center" remake of downtown with two projects: a new downtown tower and the purchase and reuse of a historic theater.
The $140 million, 23-story Broadway at Center tower will include office and retail space, a 264-room Hilton and 33 housing units. The city will contribute $14.43 million for land acquisition, skyway construction, infrastructure and a 450-space parking ramp.
The city also will pay $6 million for the Chateau Theater, a former vaudeville and movie house that was home to a Barnes & Noble bookstore until last year. The Mayo Clinic will help the city with a $500,000 contribution. The theater's future purpose has not been decided.
The projects were approved Thursday by the Destination Medical Center Corp. Board, an eight-member panel. The DMC initiative is backed by $585 million in public financing over 20 years.
Matt McKinney @_mattmckinney
Duluth
City gets DNR grant for stream restoration
Chester Creek's shoulders are about to get stronger.
The city of Duluth received a $515,000 grant from the state Department of Natural Resources for stream restoration, including seven spots on the creek's banks damaged after the 2012 floods eroded some of the clay soils there.
The restoration projects, each about the size of a small basketball court, will include adding vegetation, making ditch-like structures and bringing in boulders and other hardscape materials to slow drainage into the creek.
