ROCHESTER – Property owners downtown have started cashing in on a commitment from Destination Medical Center to support the restoration of some of the city's oldest structures.

On Thursday, the DMC board agreed to invest $700,000 to support three proposals from downtown property owners, ranging from new roofs to bathroom upgrades. The funds, which can cover up to 50% of the total project cost, are part of a $5 million pool of money set aside by the board in May for projects within the city's newly created historic district.

"Honoring our city's history while fostering new opportunities is key to Rochester's continued growth and vibrancy," said Rochester Mayor Kim Norton, who serves as vice chair of the DMC board. "These projects are investments in our community's past and future, and we are excited to see them come to life."

For years, historic preservation advocates have worried that the constant redevelopment of the city's downtown would make its way to the oldest city blocks still standing. Those concerns grew louder in 2013 after the Legislature approved DMC, a $5.6 billion initiative between the state, local government and Mayo Clinic to remake the city's downtown.

But efforts to create a downtown historic district stalled for more than a decade as property owners raised concerns about funding for new rules governing what they can do with their properties.

That changed in January when the Rochester City Council voted to designate more than three blocks of downtown as part of a historic district. The area — along 1st Avenue SW. and South Broadway — includes 31 properties, 27 of which meet the criteria for the district. Many of the buildings are home to restaurants, shops and other small businesses.

"Part of the thing that is so special about Rochester is that you can have the best medical institution in the world next to really wonderful small businesses, next to walkable residential neighborhoods," said DMC Board Member R.T. Rybak, the former mayor of Minneapolis.

Among the proposals approved by the DMC board Thursday is a $202,000 public investment in a second-story housing unit to be built above Marrow restaurant on South Broadway. Bucky Beeman, the property's owner, said he had been thinking about the project since he bought the building in 2020, but financing was a challenge. With DMC funding available, Beeman said he was able to accelerate his investment in the 165-year-old building.

"I hope people can recognize that historic buildings can be a great place for business to thrive," Beeman said. "That's the thing I get most excited about when I look at the historic buildings in downtown, is that they truly can become a place for small businesses to grow, and now there is a use case that it does actually work."

Beeman, a commercial real estate agent, is also a co-owner of a second building that was awarded $125,000 from DMC on Thursday. The money will be used to fund half the cost of a new roof and bathroom renovations at the historic Riverside Building, which houses Limb Lab and Winona State University-Rochester.

The third building to receive funding was the City Market building along 1st Avenue SW. DMC will put $381,000 toward replacing the building's roof and trusses, as well as mechanical upgrades.

Requests for historic preservation funding will be taken through 2029, the same timeframe as Mayo Clinic's $5 billion development project, which calls for redeveloping large swaths of land west of the historic district.