Developer buys Rochester site

Reuter Walton has closed on the downtown Rochester land for CityWalk Apartments, paying $20 million for the site of a planned 342-unit tower. (finance-commerce.com) The Saint Louis Park developer bought seven parcels in three deals recorded April 2, according to certificates of real estate value cited by Finance & Commerce. The site sits at Second Street Southwest and Sixth Avenue Southwest, a short walk from Mayo Clinic campuses. (finance-commerce.com) CityWalk is planned as a 13-story, $139 million apartment project with 342 units and structured parking. Finance & Commerce reported groundbreaking was targeted for early May after the Rochester Economic Development Authority approved a development agreement on March 2. (finance-commerce.com) The city backed the project through tax-increment financing, a tool that uses future property-tax growth from a site to help pay eligible development costs. Rochester created Tax Increment Financing District No. 85-1 for CityWalk in May 2025 and approved the related development assistance agreement in March 2026. (rochestermn.granicus.com) The project has been in the works for years and changed shape as costs and ownership shifted. The Star Tribune reported in May 2025 that the complex had first been announced in 2021, later more than doubled in size, and moved ahead after Reuter Walton took it over. (startribune.com) Rochester officials tied their support to housing pressure around Mayo Clinic and the city’s larger downtown buildout. Finance & Commerce reported the project sits near Mayo’s multibillion-dollar Rochester expansion and a planned high-frequency transit station. (finance-commerce.com) That demand story extends beyond one tower. Finance & Commerce reported in December 2025 that a separate Rochester apartment proposal near Mayo cited tight rental vacancies and strong long-term demand, while Minnesota Public Radio said in May 2025 that the Destination Medical Center initiative had attracted $1.8 billion in private investment at its halfway point. (finance-commerce.com) (mprnews.org) CityWalk also carried a public tradeoff. Under the city-approved deal, Reuter Walton committed to preserve 67 nearby apartments as affordable housing for 20 years through Olmsted County’s 4d program while building a market-rate high-rise downtown. (finance-commerce.com) The land purchase turns CityWalk from an approved plan into a controlled site with financing and city support lined up. In downtown Rochester, where Mayo Clinic and Destination Medical Center investment keep pulling workers and capital inward, that is usually the step that decides whether a tower gets built. (finance-commerce.com 1) (finance-commerce.com 2)