Destination Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., has broken ground on the first of several planned new facilities within the 16-city-block Discovery Square sub-district.

Once all phases of the $5.6 billion initiative are completed, Discovery Square will unite doctors and researchers for innovative new health-focused discoveries.

Next to Mayo Clinic, the first phase is a four-story, approximately 90,000 square-foot building designed to support the acceleration and translation of health-related therapies and technologies.

Project partners include Mortenson, RSP Architects, HOK, Colliers, and the state of Minnesota. Discovery Square is scheduled to open in 2019.