MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, NOVEMBER 2006

Rochester
Dan Marcec

The nine-story, 150,000-square-foot BioBusiness Center is set to begin construction in Rochester in the spring or summer of 2007.

Generally, “Rochester is a center for medicine, technology and biology’,” says Gary Smith, president of the Rochester Area Economic Development Inc. “We focus our efforts on attracting medical device, biopharmaceutical, software development, and food and dairy processing firms because they best fit our asset base.”

Supporting Smith’s assertion, some of the major businesses in Rochester include the Mayo Clinic, the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, and the soon-to-be-constructed Minnesota BioBusiness Center. In addition, the University of Minnesota has announced plans to build a new campus in downtown Rochester that will offer signature programs in healthcare, technology and business. Further, IBM’s presence in Rochester also adds to this base, as Blue Gene, IBM’s new supercomputer, is designed and manufactured here. Finally, the Rochester area’s natural resources have led to the development of a large food and dairy industry, thus securing Rochester as one of the nation’s leading centers for medicine, technology and biology. “Rochester’s future looks bright as the biotech evolution continues and these industries converge to create new opportunities,” Smith says.

The most significant project in play now throughout the Rochester market is the design and development of the aforementioned Minnesota BioBusiness Center. The structure, a nine-story, 150,000-square-foot office lab building, will be built in downtown Rochester in close proximity to the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, and the University of Minnesota. According to Smith, “The project is intended to be a high-density development with the right mix of interests, maximizing the ability of biobusinesses’ interaction with one another.”

For example, the anchor tenant of the BioBusiness Center will be Mayo Medical Ventures (MMV), which will occupy six floors within the facility. MMV is the technology commercialization arm of the Mayo Clinic, and its location within the center will allow it to consolidate its operations, which are currently scattered about town. Technology and innovation embody the core initiatives Mayo will focus in the center, and while Mayo does not control the approval of additional tenants in the building, it is looking forward to the opportunities for collaboration with biobusinesses interested in working with it.

The ground floor of the building is being reserved for retail development, leaving two floors still available for lease. In addition, the structure is being designed to accommodate the addition of up to five more floors. Actual design is scheduled to begin this fall, with construction beginning in the spring or early summer of 2007.

Aside from these major projects that are already underway, development is occurring in every quadrant of the city. Opus, Ryan Company and Chafolious Companies are several of the major developers in the city involved in the boom in construction activity. Even so, while development is underway across the board, look to both the southern quadrant and northern quadrant for the most significant growth in the future.

“Massive overhauling of the city’s main throughway has added new overpasses and interchanges, opening up these areas for commercial growth,” Smith says. “Rochester is the fasted growing city in Minnesota and is poised to lead development of Minnesota’s biotech industry. This undoubtedly will create more commercial real estate opportunity.”

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