In wake of Mayo deal, new tower, hotel planned for Rochester

A Rochester, Minn., developer on Friday announced plans for a 25-story tower that would include a high-end hotel and grocery, office space and apartments. It comes just a week after the Mayo Clinic landed hundreds of millions of dollars in state aid to pursue a big expansion.

The Post-Bulletin has a report on the plan by Andy Chafoulias' Titan Development and Investments to build one of the city's tallest buildings, but so far there aren't many details — no word on financing, how much the project would cost or which grocery and hotel brand could wind up taking root in the building. HGA Architects is designing the project.

A high-end hotel has been on wish-lists for Rochester for some time. Supporters of the Mayo Clinic state-funding bid argued that the city's lack of amenities such high-end hotels was one of the things holding it back from recruiting more people to the market as part of its Destination Medical Center project. More than $500 million in state and local funding was supposed to help fix that.

Chafoulias' father had begun planning the project — which will be called Broadway at Center — several years ago. An official said that the building had been at an advanced stage for months — which, if taken at face value, means that the state funding for Mayo wasn't needed to improve Rochester after all.

The project will mean a lot of smaller businesses will have to relocate; the Post-Bulletin has that story, too.

Reported by:  Mpls St Paul Business Journal