For more than five years, Widseth has served as a trusted partner on the CityWalk Apartments project in Rochester, MN, contributing to four unique design iterations and working with multiple ownership groups. Our services have included planning, civil engineering, landscape architecture, and land surveying. Led by Principal Planner Logan Tjossem, AICP, Widseth navigated shifting visions, financing challenges, entitlement hurdles, and evolving market conditions to keep this transformative development on track.
What began as a modest proposal has grown into one of Rochester’s largest market rate multifamily projects: a striking 13-story, 342-unit apartment community at the southwest corner of 2nd Street SW and 6th Avenue SW, directly across from Mayo Clinic’s expanding hospital campus. At $139 million, CityWalk will deliver modern, high-density housing with premium amenities, including structured parking, a fitness center, community and club rooms, outdoor pools and spa deck, work-from-home spaces, EV charging stations, and thoughtfully designed green spaces.
One standout feature is a public pocket park on the northeast corner of the building. This inviting green space provides a welcoming outdoor area for residents and the broader community, with seating and a pedestrian-friendly design that enhances downtown vitality and connectivity. Designed with sustainability in mind, the park doubles as a stormwater retention pond, managing surface water runoff from the site and surrounding areas. By integrating natural infiltration and retention, it helps reduce flooding risks, improves water quality, and supports Rochester’s green infrastructure goals—turning a functional necessity into an attractive community asset.
This long-term effort brought together a broad coalition of partners across city departments and development teams, including the City of Rochester’s Community Development, Public Works, and Administration departments, as well as Destination Medical Center (DMC). Key contributors included Desmond McGeough, Brent Svenby, and Molly Patterson-Lundgren (Community Development); Dillon Dombrovski and Seth Loken (Public Works); Josh Johnson (City Administration); and Patrick Seeb (DMC). The project team also included ESG’s lead architect Bob Loken, developer representative Clark Gassen of DM Companies, and Kris Ikeler of Reuter Walton.
From professional planning and entitlement services to civil engineering and intersection design, landscape architecture, and platting, our team delivered the technical precision and strategic guidance each investor and stakeholder needed. Logan Tjossem and the Widseth team turned complex redesigns and regulatory requirements into a clear path forward proving that steady, high-quality service builds more than buildings; it builds confidence, trust, and momentum.
Now, with full financing secured, EDA approvals in place, and a groundbreaking scheduled for early May 2026 under developer Reuter Walton, CityWalk is set to transform a long-vacant, blighted site into a vibrant downtown destination. This project strengthens Rochester’s tax base, supports Mayo Clinic’s world-class workforce, and injects new energy into the heart of the city.
For more information about this project or to talk about what’s next for your community, contact Logan Tjossem.
