Mayo Clinic will nearly double its presence in Mayo Clinic Square, the site formerly known as Block E that sits across the street from Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.
 
Later this month, construction will begin on a 16,000-square-foot addition to Mayo’s sports medicine facility. The Rochester-based nonprofit currently occupies a 22,000-square foot space on the third floor of the property.
 
It was revealed last week when Chicago-based LaSalle Investment Management purchased Mayo Clinic Square that the building was 96 percent leased.
 
Mayo spokeswoman Rhoda Madson told TCB that the medical institution’s expansion would be into the existing space on the second level connected to the skyway.
 
“The cost of the project and our staffing needs are still being determined,” Madson said, noting that work on the new space is expected to wrap by the end of the year.
 
Mayo said in a release on Friday that the expansion would include a number of additions and improvements to its current operation. Those include 15 new patient exam rooms; a biomechanics and movement analysis laboratory for sports medicine research; an additional suite for musculoskeletal ultrasound and regenerative medicine procedures; an advanced X-ray system, and a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry system to measure bone density and body composition.
 
The additional space and functionality Mayo will have is expected to create demand for more sports medicine physician staff and services from specialists in the orthopedic, primary care and physical medicine and rehabilitation sports fields.
 
“This expansion allows us to serve our patients better by tapping Mayo Clinic’s expertise, cutting-edge technology, research and educational capabilities,” Edward Laskowski, co-director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine, said in a statement.
 
Since 2014 when it opened, athletes of all ages and sizes, including players for both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, have used Mayo’s sports medicine facility.