After 4 businesses close, Rochester considers $500K to help those hurt by construction

On Monday, the Rochester City Council will vote on a measure that would provide an infusion of funding to support businesses impacted by the years-long massive construction projects and Mayo Clinic’s expansion downtown. But after four businesses recently closed and others teeter on the brink, some business owners say it’s too little, too late.

Businesses on the once busy Second Street corridor in Rochester have been forced to operate for almost a year now amid cranes, backhoes, front loaders and other loud construction equipment that have blocked their storefronts and turned away traffic. The road is getting torn up and rebuilt for a new bus rapid transit line, which will eventually have a fleet of buses running up and down it every few minutes in a loop.

It’s a signature component of Rochester’s 20-year, $5.6 billion Destination Medical Center redevelopment project aimed at remaking the city to accommodate the city’s population growth and make it more attractive to patients, their families and other visitors who come to Mayo Clinic from all over the world.

But, the construction is hurting local businesses. Four shops and restaurants have closed so far this year on Second Street, two of them just this past week. And many more say they’re struggling to hang on. The bus rapid transit line isn’t scheduled to open until next August, leaving businesses with nearly another year to contend with the construction mess that is keeping many customers away.

“It’s really, really bad,” said Joy Loera, owner of Uni Uni Bubble Tea on Second Street. “When we signed the lease, we had no idea this [would] be going on.”

Jenna Bowman, Rochester’s Strategic Communications and Engagement Director, said the city is working hard to try to support these businesses, and she’s hoping that the continuation of the city’s Business Forward program with an extra infusion of $500,000 can help them ride out the construction-related downturn.

The fund that can be used on marketing and promotional efforts to support businesses impacted by the construction. In the first year, the city spent $231,000 on everything from signage to help people navigate the maze of construction to find a local restaurant to free professional photography for the local businesses.

Now, the Destination Medical Center board has approved spending an additional $500,000 on the assistance program. The Rochester City Council will vote on whether or not to co-sign the financial aid on Monday.

It’s unclear how the new funds will be spent if approved, but Bowman said the city intends to take what the business community wants into consideration, so they can continue what’s been working and revise what has not. And she acknowledged that the city is learning in real time.

“The [bus rapid transit system] is the largest public infrastructure project in Rochester history,” Bowman said. “This is new for all of us. Sometimes no one has all the answers, but collectively we hopefully can find some good answers. That is my hope with this next phase, if you will, is that there is an ability to find some wins here for everyone.”

However, the Business Forward fund does not allow for direct payments or loans to the impacted businesses, and business owners like Will Forsman of Cafe Steam said that’s what’s most needed.

“[We need] money. Cash," said Forsman who owns a small chain of coffee shops in downtown Rochester, including one on Second Street. “None of these businesses want to ask for a handout. It's incredibly embarrassing, and we don't take a lot of pride in it. But they're being forced to do this because they're left with no other option.”

There is some precedent for Minnesota municipalities supporting business more directly during massive construction projects. Back in 2011, when the light rail transit system was under construction across the Twin Cities, the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis offered impacted small retail businesses and restaurants the ability to apply for $20,000, interest-free, forgivable loans to help them get through the downturn.

But the city of Rochester said that’s not currently a topic of conversation and that city government has strict requirements on how taxpayer dollars can be used.

Forsman said he’s concerned that the additional funding won’t really help because it’ll just be more of the same. He said for him and his neighbors, marketing isn’t usually the issue, it’s the fact that potential customers can’t find their shop or they choose to avoid going downtown all together due to the menace of traffic cones, detours and construction work.

“This program reads as a PR stunt,” Forsman said. “[The city wants to show] that the powers that be have listened to businesses that are struggling on that street and heard that they're having difficulty advertising or marketing themselves, which is perhaps not the issue. The issue is that people physically cannot get to these businesses. You can advertise them all you want, but it will do nothing to be able to allow for customers to actually access the businesses.”

And Forsman noted, it won’t do anything to help the businesses that have already closed their doors for good.

• As Rochester builds Destination Medical Center, some businesses say they're falling off the map
• Rochester’s biomedical startup economy is growing. Finding the right workers is harder
• Why is Rochester’s 10-acre Seneca site still vacant seven years later?