Mortenson presents plans for Mayo's first Discovery Square building
The developer tapped to handle Destination Medical Center's Discovery Square project unveiled plans Thursday morning for the sub-district's first building.
A 60,000+ square foot, "state-of-the-art research and development complex" will be constructed on the corner of 4th Street SW and 2nd Avenue SW. The site, which is now used for surface parking, is a block south of Mayo Clinic's Guggenheim Building.
The building aims to serve as a catalyst for Discovery Square, a 16-block area on the south end of downtown that Mayo and local officials want to develop as a life science research campus.
The mixed-use building will be "highly transparent, open and welcoming," according to a presentation given to the DMC Corporation Board. While Mayo will be a tenant, the goal is to also house startups looking for the opportunity to collaborate.
Graphic: Rendering / DMCC presentation
“One of the things that will make this building really different is that Mayo Clinic, while it will be a tenant inside of the building, will not occupy a single floor," said Jeremy Jacobs, a development executive at Mortenson, the firm handling the first phase of Discovery Square. "Mayo Clinic will have space on multiple floors throughout the building so that multiple tenants on each floor will have proximity, direct access and visibility to Mayo Clinic at all times throughout the day.”
Construction on the building is expected to begin by the end of this year and take about two years to complete.
Last year, Mayo announced plans to expand its research, commercial and product development space downtown by more than 2 million square feet over the lifespan of DMC.
Cover graphic: Rendering / DMCC presentation
