Mayo Clinic receives $32 million gift for a new research building downtown

Mayo Clinic will expand the research arm of its Rochester campus, thanks to a $32 million gift from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.

The clinic announced Tuesday its plans to add a new four-story, 64,000-square-foot research building in downtown Rochester. The building will be located just north of Mayo’s Opus Building, which is situated on the corner of Fourth Street Southwest and Fourth Avenue Southwest.

Mayo plans to break ground on the building in 2020 and move into the space by 2022. The building will be named after Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Building, both of whom received care at Mayo prior to their deaths.

"Our family's history with Mayo Clinic spans more than four decades, and the physicians and staff at Mayo have become like family to us," said Marina Kellen French, the daughter of the couple and current vice president of the foundation. "We are thrilled to be able to support Mayo and be part of advancing medical research that will help patients for decades to come."

Mayo says it is still determining how it will use the building.

The structure will be located within the Discovery Square sub-district, a 16-block area that is being developed into a life science research hub.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.

Cover photo courtesy Mayo Clinic