2,500-stall parking ramp, apartments and commercial space highlight Transit Village and Link plans

ROCHESTER — Plans to create a transit village at the western end of the planned Link Rapid Transit route continue to emerge.

On Monday, the Rochester City Council is slated to receive an update on the proposed development of what is currently a Mayo Clinic parking lot along Second Street Southwest. It will be part of its 3:30 p.m. study session in council chambers of the city-county Government Center.

Plans call for Mayo Clinic to build a 2,500-stall parking ramp for employees on the east side of the lot that currently provides space for nearly 950 vehicles.

The planned parking ramp is expected to open space for the construction of mixed-income apartments, as well as commercial space next to a transit hub and related plaza on the northern portion of the lot.

While plans for approximately 540 parking spaces for housing and commercial use were identified in materials presented during a neighborhood meeting last month, information provided to the council ahead of Monday’s study sessions points to the potential for development of additional public parking in the future.

Interim Community Development Planning Supervisor Ed Caples said Thursday an official general development plan for the Mayo-owned site that will include public and private development is expected within days.

The transit hub is planned as one of two endpoints of the public 2.8-mile Link system, which will feature dedicated city buses providing transit largely along Second Street, from the current Mayo Clinic West Shuttle lot to future development near the former AMPI site.

The proposed transit system remains in development with design expected to be 90% complete by early June. Final design is expected by the end of August.

Final approval of an anticipated $84 million in federal funds to create the planned $143.4 million system is expected by the end of the year. Remaining funding for the project is coming from dedicated Destination Medical Center transit funds, with no local tax dollars being used for development.

Once complete, a 20-year agreement with Mayo Clinic, will cover operation costs, which will provide fare-free rides to employees, residents and visitors needing to move between downtown locations along the route.

The buses are expected to make stops every five minutes between 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays at each of the route’s 12 designated stations, which include locations at St. Marys Hospital and the Rochester Public Library. During non-peak operating hours, stops are expected to be made every 10 minutes.

While the transit village on Second Street Southwest will include dedicated Mayo Clinic employee parking, Link planners note the added housing on the west end of the line, as well as nearby neighborhoods at both ends of the system, will be within walking distance.

City Council member Molly Dennis has expressed concern that the system will provide limited benefit to residents who don’t live within walking distance of the system, and she has suggested the Link system should include free parking along the line.

Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser said providing free public parking at the transit hubs is not feasible due to the cost of creating parking structures, which can cost $40,000 to $60,000 per stall, but she said the creation of the system is benefiting the community as a whole in other ways.

“If we did not build this system, what this community would experience to be able to support the ridership is 16 square blocks of parking to meet the demand,” she said during an earlier council discussion, adding that the 11,000 riders expected to use the system when it starts are community members, regardless of their employer.

Construction of the proposed village site is scheduled in phases, starting with development of the construction of the new Mayo Clinic parking facility by the end of this year and city transit station next year.

As planning continues, development of mixed-use commercial and residential space at the center of the project is also expected to start next year, with added apartments planned for 2026 construction as the final phase of the initial development.

The Link Rapid Transit bus line is expected to be operational by the end of 2026, with the final phase of the transit village slated to be completed in early 2028.

Meetings scheduled to be held during the week of April 27 include:

Rochester

• City Council study session, 3:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE. The meeting will livestream at

www.rochestermn.gov/meetings/council-meetings

and be available on Spectrum cable channel 180 or 188.

• Ethical Practices Board, 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in room 104 of City Hall.

• Public Utility Board, 4 p.m. Tuesday in the Rochester Public Utilities community room, 4000 East River Road NE.

Olmsted County

• Commissioner education with Property Records and Licensing, 5 p.m. Tuesday in conference room 2 for the Government Center.

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