UMR’s $10 Million Downtown Rochester Expansion Approved by Board of Regents
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The University of Minnesota-Rochester’s (UMR) expansion has gotten another green light.
Read More: Rochester City Council Approves $7.7 Million for UMR Expansion
UMR received approval from the University of Minnesota Board of Regents to expand its footprint in the Discovery District in Downtown Rochester. The Rochester City Council approved UMR’s expansion plan earlier this month.
“This next step allows UMR to expand opportunities for students while strengthening connections with employers and health care leaders,” UMR Chancellor Lori Carrell said in a news release.
UMR Expansion Plans at Discovery Square in Downtown Rochester Approved by Board of Regents
The university planning is to develop approximately 12,000 square feet of teaching laboratories, classrooms, and collaboration space in Two Discovery Square.
"The expansion will increase UMR’s laboratory classrooms, allow for continued enrollment growth, and place students, faculty and researchers in close proximity to BioLabs and a dynamic network of industry and research partners,” UMR’s news release says.
Plans UMR submitted to the City of Rochester also call for the conversion of 1,400 square feet of classroom space in One Discovery Square into expanded laboratory space.
UMR officials say they plan to be in the new space at Discovery Square by the Fall of 2027.
Cost of UMR Expansion
UMR’s expansion comes with a price tag of $10.4 million. $2.7 million comes from the University of Minnesota system.
The remaining $7.7 million comes from a combination of Destination Medical Center funds and revenues raised by a sales tax Rochester voters approved in 2012 to fund capital improvements at UMR.
The $4.7 million in sales tax revenue covers the remaining balance of the $14 million approved by voters. Destination medical center is providing $3 million in funding.
