Heard on the Street

Mankato firm to upgrade Rochester student complex

A Mankato-based development company is planning to upgrade a Rochester student housing complex it recently purchased for $2.2 million.

The Tailwind Group, a property development and management firm, bought Evanston Heights at 830 21st Ave. S.E. on Nov. 14. Tailwind owns and manages a number of student housing and commercial properties in Mankato.

"Our plan is to re-face it, remodel it, re-name it and re-brand it," says Landon Smith, one of Tailwind's four owners. "It has been deteriorating for a while. Our goal is to get it more up-to-date and more attractive. Amenities are important to today's students."

The 27-year-old Evanston Heights has five buildings on 6.6 acres with a total of 60 housing units. It's located near the Rochester Community Technical College's campus and traditionally has been home to RCTC students.

It has struggled in recent years compared to its heyday. It sold for $2.8 million in 2000. The next time it changed hands in 2006, it sold for $4.27 million.

Smith estimates that Tailwind will invest around $2 million to renovate the faded facilities. This will be Tailwind's first project in Rochester.

"Our main focus has always been student housing, so it's a safe play for us. It's close enough to Mankato, so we can still manage it," he says.

While the firm has many projects in the works in Mankato, the Evanston Heights deal is sort of an experiment to test the waters here.

"Rochester's an exciting community, so we thought we'd try it out," says Smith.

Mayo Clinic-linked Cardio3 part of Europe group awarded $6M research grant

Cardio3 BioSciences, the biotechnology firm based on Mayo Clinic research, is part of a European research consortium that recently snagged a four-year research grant for $4.5 million euros or $6 million U.S. dollars to develop "a bioresorbable polymeric valve tube for the treatment of patient suffering congenital heart defects." 

Cardio3 licensed Mayo Clinic's research back in 2007. That research is led by Mayo Clinic's Dr. Andre Terzic and Dr. Atta Behfar. The therapy uses stem cells from a patient's  bone marrow. Through a proprietary process called Cardiopoiesis, Cardio3 re-programs those cells to become heart cells. The cells are then injected back into the patient's heart to repair damaged tissue.

 

Here's some from the announcement of this latest project:

Cardio3 BioSciences…  is part of a consortium which has been awarded a highly competitive European Union Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP7) research grant from the European Union to support the development of a bioresorbable polymeric valve tube for the treatment of patient suffering congenital heart defects.

The project, titled "Tissue engineering of the right heart outflow tract by biofunctionalized bioresorbable polymeric valved tube", or "TEH-TUBE", is a four year project and will start on 1st January 2014.

C3BS is part of a first-in-class, pan-European consortium composed of seven companies and universities, led by the "Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris (APHP)" and the team of Professor David Kalfa and Philippe Menasché.

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C3BS is the exploitation manager of the consortium and as such is in charge of exploiting the outcome of the research project. Within the consortium, Cardio3 is also in charge of the production of the mesenchymal stem cells and the definition and the implementation of the regulatory strategy.

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"We are delighted to be part of a project which represents a potential paradigm shift in the treatment of congenital cardiac diseases," said Dr. Christian Homsy, CEO of Cardio3 BioSciences. "We are also honored to be chosen by our partners to exploit the outcome of this program. It demonstrates the confidence and the recognition of our peers in the expertise we have built over the past years. FP7 grants are awarded on the basis of a highly competitive, two-stage, peer-review process, therefore this award serves as recognition of our cell production, regulatory and clinical expertise."

This wraps up a big year for Cardio3 BioSciences. It released an IPO in July on NYSE Euronext stock exchanges in Brussels and Paris that raised $29.6 million, or 23 million Euros.

Don't dunk your donuts before they're glazed

Two words have been floating around downtown Rochester for weeks like crumbs in a cup of coffee.

Dunkin' Donuts.

Locals, including one self-described "humongous" Rochester fan (Yes, I'm looking at you Courtney. Heh) who will only use highway  exits in Wisconsin that lead to a DD, have been wondering if all of this Dunkin' talk is just a cream-filled fantasy or could a shop be on its way to the Med City.

The short answer is … it's possible.

The slightly longer answer is that it doesn't seem very likely in the near future, but it could happen.

Dunkin' Donuts rolled out of Minnesota a while back. The final shop in the state, which was surprisingly based in Austin, frosted its last long john in 2005.

Since then, the Dunkin' Donuts tally in the Land of 10,000 Lakes has been zero. In 2008 and 2009, the popular chain talked about a big return to Minnesota, but that all turned out to be false alarms.

However, the Canton, Mass.-based chain currently is recruiting franchisees in Minnesota. And the recruiting is reaching beyond the Twin Cities.

The coffee and baked good chain has about 10,000 stores worldwide, including about 7,000 franchised restaurants in 36 states.

When asked directly if the orange-and-pink logo might be on the way to Rochester, company officials stated that no plans are in the works. They declined to say if they're negotiating for a possible franchise here.

Olmsted County is only one of 85 Minnesota counties with an available Dunkin' franchise. Winona and Houston counties are already reserved for franchises. St. Louis County is only one marked as the site of a "future" Dunkin' Donuts location, according to the company's website.

Franchise information lists that the "preferred" building is 1,200 to 2,600 square feet, has a drive-through window and can be open 24-hours a day. Potential franchisees need to have a minimum of $250,000 in "liquid capital" and $50,000 net worth per location. The company prefers each franchisee be responsible for multiple locations.

The bottom line is that it doesn't look hopeful for Dunkin' Donuts opening soon in Rochester, but it could eventually happen.

Cowboy Jack's may win Western logo shoot-out

Western-themed restaurants and bars have been hot lately in Rochester.

We now have Texas Roadhouse, Wild Bill's Sports Saloon, Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill, Whiskey Bone's Roadhouse and the latest high plains drifter to ride into town is Cowboy Jack's Eatery. 

Cowboy Jack's is part of a Twin Cities chain and is slated to open soon within the former America's Best Value Hotel on South Broadway.

Each has its own take on a rough and ready Western atmosphere.

 

However, going just by logos alone, it looks like the the latest addition to the Med City corral could be the toughest hombre ever seen in these parts.

 

• Texas Roadhouse has kind of 60's diner look with a cowboy hat wearing state. Eyecatching.

•  Wild Bill's invokes the whole tin star thing with sort of sheriff/ U.S. marshall/ ranger feel. That's a strong logo.

• Whiskey Creek goes with a flaming campfire design invoking cowboys around a fire after a day of driving cattle across the prairie.

 

 

• Whiskey Bones has an Elvis in a 50's diner thing going on, sort like the restaurant that John Travolta took Uma Thurman in "Pulp Fiction."

And then there's Cowboy Jack's.

• There's a skull of a Texas longhorn steer with

glowing red vengeful, demonic eye sockets and fangs. Very macho and a little spooky.

And then there's the crossed meat cleavers behind the skull that are actually DRIPPING BLOOD.

Uh... yeah... OK. That's an insanely intense logo.

That's the roughest, toughest logo of the crew. That logo paints Cowboy Jack's as the guy in the black hat who shoots first and then stands with one scuffed boot on the chest of his victim while he casually lights a cigarette.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RCTC student housing sells for $2.2 million

It looks like the student housing apartment complex that serves Rochester Community and Technical College has sold.

Evanston Heights, which has five buildings with 60 apartments on 21st Avenue Southeast, was purchased by Tailwind 830 21st LLC for $2.2 million on Nov. 14.

The Rochester-based Tailwind bought it from 831 21st Ave SE Holdings LLC, which has owned it for about a year and a half.

Real estate folks don't seem to go in for very creative LLC names these days. I would have done something like The Most Awesomest Student Housing Ever LLC, but that's just me. Heh.

Don't know if this ownership change will add up to any actual changes to the property, but I'll check on it.

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge. -- Jeff Kiger

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge. -- Jeff Kiger

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge.

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge.

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge.

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge.

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge.

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Wednesday marked the first full day under a new brand for a hotel on Rochester's South Broadway.

The newly renovated 145-unit hotel at 1625 S. Broadway is now under the Wyndham Garden flag. It was an America's Best Value Inn and Suites hotel from 2011 until this week.

This shift from what many consider a budget hotel brand to a more upscale one has been the plan since the Wayzata-based Bay Ridge Properties purchased it in February 2012.

Bay Ridge purchased the 39-year-old hotel from the Phoenix Hotel Group of Wisconsin for $4.8 million.

Bay Ridge manages, owns and develops hotels throughout Minnesota, Texas and Missouri as well as having projects in the North Dakota oil fields and the luxury travel destination of Costa Rica.

"It has had some interchange with different brands over the years. We aim to take it a level higher by putting a brand on it that will perform well and tie it to some new markets as well," said Lee Fundanet, the chief operating officer of Bay Ridge Properties, back in 2012.

The hotel was under the La Quinta brand from 2006 to 2011. Before than, it was a Comfort Inn and Suites for eight years.

While its overall brand has changed many times, so has the name and look of the hotel's bar and restaurant. In 2008, it became Macho Nacho. Later it transformed into Ron's Place, which recently morphed into The Fieldhouse.

Now as part of this latest upgrade, a Cowboy Jack's Eatery is opening in the hotel.

Cowboy Jack's is a casual, American-style restaurant chain based in the Twin Cities. It is expected to open soon and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bar area will now be called The Lounge.

- See more at: http://www.postbulletin.com/business/heard-on-the-street-south-broadway-hotel-blooms-under-new/article_dcd53265-39bc-542f-a02a-dd01b4291d9c.html#sthash.ST0VUDsC.dpuf

Mayo Clinic to be at center of LifeScience Alley conference

This is kind of interesting. LifeScience Alley, Minnesota's medical device and bioscience industry group, is hosting its 2013 conference in Minneapolis next week.

And Mayo Clinic will be the centerpiece. If I register by midnight, it will only cost me $495 to attend. If I don't hit the button by midnight, it'll cost me $750.

Hhhhmm.... I think I'll stay in Rochester and confer with inside sources here. Maybe with the bosses gone, folks will feel more chatty than usual. Heh.

Here's some from the conference pitch:

On Wednesday, at the LifeScience Alley 2013 Conference in Minneapolis, leaders from world-class life science and healthcare organizations will discuss how changes in healthcare policy and delivery are rewriting the way our community innovates, operates and delivers value to patients.  

One of these organizations is this year's New Technology Showcase Partner, Mayo Clinic.  As a global leader in healthcare innovation and delivery, Mayo Clinic will be introducing several cutting-edge life science technologies, two of which originate from research conducted at Mayo.   

During the Morning Keynote, "Controlling Costs in the New Healthcare Environment - Effectively Managing the Global Supply Chain", Mayo Clinic's Karen Wolfe will highlight how the organization manages logistics and its global supply chain to minimize healthcare costs while delivering more value to its patients.   

In addition, representatives from Mayo Clinic Ventures, Mayo Clinic Research and Destination Medical Center (DMC) will be at their booths to discuss all that Mayo Clinic and the city of Rochester have to offer life science companies and entrepreneurs.

Rochester Medical shareholders OK acquisition

Rochester Medical Corp., Stewartville's largest employer, became a  subsidiary of New Jersey-based C.R. Bard at 8 a.m. today following Wednesday's overwhelmingly positive shareholder vote.

Votes representing 8.4 million shares were counted in a Minneapolis board room of the law firm Dorsey & Whitney. The $262 million deal was approved by a vote of 8.1 million in favor to 179,156 against. Another 12,054 abstained. Rochester Medical had 12.3 million outstanding shares that were eligible to vote.

Rochester Medical's Chief Financial Officer David Jonas said the vote tally took about 30 minutes. About 20 people attended the voted.

Shares of Rochester Medical were trading at $20 at the close of the market on Wednesday.

Representatives of C.R. Bard are scheduled to discuss their future plans at an all-employee meeting Friday morning at the catheter manufacturing facility. Rochester Medical has about 250 employees in Stewartville with a total of 400 worldwide.

While no specifics have been discussed about what will happen to the Stewartville facility or its employees, the president of Bard’s Medical Division made encouraging comments to staff in September.

"We are making this merger because we really believe you have got a ton to bring to us. These are additive, these two companies. There is not a ton of overlap," said Peter Curry, according to documents filed with the  U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

This acquisition marks the end of the local ownership of the 25-year-old company co-founded and run by CEO Anthony Conway and his brother, Vice President Philip Conway. The CEO has previously said that he and his brother will remain "deeply involved in the transition … ensuring that our new products will get to market in a very timely fashion."

1st DMC project applies for downtown Rochester demolition

Titan Ventures, which is owned by Rochester's Chafoulias family, plans to build a multi-use entertainment complex on the site of the long empty C.O. Brown building on South Broadway in the heart of downtown.

This is the project that has been earmarked as the first beneficiary of funding via the Destination Medical Center development pipeline. A special redevelopment tax-increment-financing district has already been approved to raise $300,000 to cover the asbestos removal and demolition of the building at 300 S. Broadway.

I assume the asbestos has been yanked out, because City Center I LLC submitted an application Tuesday for the demolition of the building down to the footings and foundation.

Now it's just a question of when the demo work will start. It was pretty quiet on site today.

There's also the question of exactly what will be built.

In September, Mark Steege, chief financial officer for Titan Ventures, told the Rochester City Council that there has been a lot of interest in the project. In May, Titan CEO Andy Chafoulias initially announced he planned to build a three-story building with an Italian restaurant, rooftop bar and a jazz/blues basement lounge.
 
"There is a significant possibility that (the project) could grow by three to four floors just due to the interest we've had," Steege said back in September.

The last I heard the details had still not been worked out, though that may have changed.

I'm checking with Titan about those assorted loose ends.

Speaking of details, here's more on the funding for the financial wonks out there.

The pay-as-you-go TIF is described by the city's senior administrative analyst Terry Spaeth as essentially reimbursing the annual taxes the developers will pay, once the project is complete. He estimates the earliest Titan could see a payment is 2016

Rochester's downtown Chateau building up for sale

Chatter about Rochester's Historic Chateau Theatre at 15 First St. S.W. surfaced last week on Twitter, because the 89-year-old building is up for sale.

While no change seems imminent, it's correct that the 21,613-square-foot classic cinema building is for sale.

A sales listing for the building originally was posted on Loopnet.com on September 2012. The asking price is $5 million.

A Barnes & Noble bookstore has operated in the renovated Chateau since 1995. It has a 20-year lease that runs through January 2015. In 2005, the annual rent was $495,548. Its rent was slated to increase by 14 percent in 2010.

It's owned by Dowel Realty Associates, of Morristown, N.J. The real estate investment firm bought it from Chateau Plaza Limited Partners of Rochester for $6.1 million on Jan. 20, 2004.

When Dowel purchased it, a spokesman said the company planned to keep the building as an investment property. It was the firm's first acquisition in Rochester. The prominence of the building and having Barnes & Noble as tenant was said to have attracted Dowel as did Rochester's active downtown. – Jeff Kiger

Mayo Clinic, U of M startup ready for software rollout

Rochester's Evidentia Health got some press last week about its impending rollout at Fairview Health Systems.

Evidentia Health was one of the first tenants of Mayo Clinic Business Accelerator when it opened early this year.

Its billed as a health care IT company with licensed expertise and medical content from both Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota

It was co-founded by Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jeremy Friese in early 2012.Friese, an interventional radiologist, is the medical director for new ventures and business development in the Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine.

Evidentia was profiled on Wednesday by TechdotMN, a non-profit business media group. Here's some from that piece by Yael Grauer:

As new provisions from the Affordable Healthcare Act take effect, Minnesota startup Evidentia Health is poised to help patients better understand their electronic health records (EHRs) while helping physicians meet criteria for “meaningful use” of EHR technology to improve patient care.

To receive EHR incentive pay under Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, healthcare providers must show they are meaningfully using EHRs by meeting various objectives.  Patients are required to be able to access their medical information within three days of when it’s created, and in 2014, this will be within one day.

The problem is that viewing EHR material and doing research online can be confusing to patients. They can jump to the wrong conclusions, worry unnecessarily and often have questions for their care team that may not be applicable.

Evidentia provides reports to both patients and physicians. The reports for patients include the most important sources of information, as well as secondary information for those interested in even more. In addition to the material in patient reports, physicians also receive recent medical research for evidence-based medicine studies.

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Founded in October 2012, Evidentia is funded by Mayo Clinic Ventures and the University of Minnesota. A pilot program is taking place at the Family Practice Internal Medicine groups in Rochester, and Evidentia is prepared to deploy within Fairview at University Hospital.

As new provisions from the Affordable Healthcare Act take effect, Minnesota startup Evidentia Health is poised to help patients better understand their electronic health records (EHRs) while helping physicians meet criteria for “meaningful use” of EHR technology to improve patient care.

To receive EHR incentive pay under Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, healthcare providers must show they are meaningfully using EHRs by meeting various objectives.  Patients are required to be able to access their medical information within three days of when it’s created, and in 2014, this will be within one day.

The problem is that viewing EHR material and doing research online can be confusing to patients. They can jump to the wrong conclusions, worry unnecessarily and often have questions for their care team that may not be applicable.

Evidentia provides reports to both patients and physicians. The reports for patients include the most important sources of information, as well as secondary information for those interested in even more. In addition to the material in patient reports, physicians also receive recent medical research for evidence-based medicine studies.

“Evidentia brings together all of the information that you need to know and get it in your hands in a way that’s both credible and trustworthy, has been reviewed by physicians, and is applicable to your situation,” says CTO Brent Backhaus.

When patients access their electronic medical records, they’ve often confused about certain key phrases or conditions. Evidentia looks at the text of the reports, highlights key phrases, and presents individualized information to the patient. The information selected is both algorithmically selected and reviewed by a physician.

“We pick information to present to both to the patient and the physician that make the most sense for them to see at that point in time about their specific condition,” Backhaus says.

In addition to Backhaus, who was the founding CTO of Virtual Radiologic, Evidentia’s team includes CEO Jeremy Friese, a Harvard MBA and Associate Chair of Radiology at Mayo Clinic, and chief product officer Dan Steinberger, a U of M physician and technology leader, and founder of ProVation Medical (which had a $100m exit in 2006).

Founded in October 2012, Evidentia is funded by Mayo Clinic Ventures and the University of Minnesota. A pilot program is taking place at the Family Practice Internal Medicine groups in Rochester, and Evidentia is prepared to deploy within Fairview at University Hospital.

- See more at: http://tech.mn/news/2013/11/06/evidentia-health-mayo-clinic-ventures/#sthash.tL8tSBOX.dpuf

Yael Grauer

Yael Grauer

Yael Grauer

Yael Grauer

As new provisions from the Affordable Healthcare Act take effect, Minnesota startup Evidentia Health is poised to help patients better understand their electronic health records (EHRs) while helping physicians meet criteria for “meaningful use” of EHR technology to improve patient care.

To receive EHR incentive pay under Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, healthcare providers must show they are meaningfully using EHRs by meeting various objectives.  Patients are required to be able to access their medical information within three days of when it’s created, and in 2014, this will be within one day.

The problem is that viewing EHR material and doing research online can be confusing to patients. They can jump to the wrong conclusions, worry unnecessarily and often have questions for their care team that may not be applicable.

Evidentia provides reports to both patients and physicians. The reports for patients include the most important sources of information, as well as secondary information for those interested in even more. In addition to the material in patient reports, physicians also receive recent medical research for evidence-based medicine studies.

“Evidentia brings together all of the information that you need to know and get it in your hands in a way that’s both credible and trustworthy, has been reviewed by physicians, and is applicable to your situation,” says CTO Brent Backhaus.

When patients access their electronic medical records, they’ve often confused about certain key phrases or conditions. Evidentia looks at the text of the reports, highlights key phrases, and presents individualized information to the patient. The information selected is both algorithmically selected and reviewed by a physician.

“We pick information to present to both to the patient and the physician that make the most sense for them to see at that point in time about their specific condition,” Backhaus says.

In addition to Backhaus, who was the founding CTO of Virtual Radiologic, Evidentia’s team includes CEO Jeremy Friese, a Harvard MBA and Associate Chair of Radiology at Mayo Clinic, and chief product officer Dan Steinberger, a U of M physician and technology leader, and founder of ProVation Medical (which had a $100m exit in 2006).

Founded in October 2012, Evidentia is funded by Mayo Clinic Ventures and the University of Minnesota. A pilot program is taking place at the Family Practice Internal Medicine groups in Rochester, and Evidentia is prepared to deploy within Fairview at University Hospital.

- See more at: http://tech.mn/news/2013/11/06/evidentia-health-mayo-clinic-ventures/#sthash.tL8tSBOX.dpufis it will roll out its technology this year.