I was revisiting the Common Cents website that was used to promote Rochester's half-cent local option sales tax extension last year, and note the more modest description of Destination Medical Center's ambitions:
$20,000,000 for the Destination Medical Community (DMC). This is an economic development initiative whose goal is to create a stronger collaboration between the community and Mayo Clinic in order that patients worldwide will view Rochester as the place to come not only for their medical care but also for the patient experiences of hope, health and hospitality while here. These resources will be used to leverage private funds, including investments from Mayo, for capital costs related to planning, design, land, construction, tenant improvements and associated costs. It is estimated that this effort will result in the creation of 5,000 jobs and $557 million of economic output over the next ten years.
Just a few months later, Mayo CEO Dr. John Noseworthy was in the governor's office, proposing a $6 billion, 20-year initiative that will create a projected 35,000 to 40,000 jobs in the Rochester area. The city's share of that initiative was adjusted upward by the Legislature, to $128 million.
