Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - A decision could be made Wednesday that would allow a new Mayo Clinic employee parking lot to open next month.

Mayo is planning to lease the former Kmart site and the property owner has already repaved and striped the parking lot.

The overall plan being recommended by the city Community Development department calls for more than 1200 parking spaces, 200 fewer than what the developer is seeking.

The department has made several recommendations that will be presented to the city Planning and Zoning Commission Wednesday. They include a designation of the property as a Park and Ride site that would be developed in two phases.

Department principal planner Ryan Yetzer says the recommendation would require a conditional use permit for each phase. The first phase would include the existing parking lot and 628 stalls. The second phase would create 609 stalls. Yetzer says the elimination of 200 spaces is the result of zoning requirements for pedestrian and other amenities. He says traffic concerns also need to be addressed as part of the second phase.

Yetzer says if the commission approves the recommendations, they would be taken up by the City Council in January. He expects the second phase will be dealt with next year. The building on the site would likely be demolished by then.

Under the current proposal, the property would be leased to the city which would then sub-lease it to Mayo Clinic. This is necessary because the site would be designated a public parking lot. The agreement would be considered “interim” and expire in ten years.

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