(ABC 6 News) – On Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, the Mayo Clinic opened the Kellen Building their newest project in downtown Rochester since the Gonda opened in 2001. This $120 million project will now serve as Mayo’s primary hub for cancer and Alzheimer’s research.

However, it’ll still be a few weeks before money and construction projects will begin for Mayo’s Bold. Forward. Unbound. Initiative.

“What we hope to see is that we have lots of discovery that allows us to translate those discoveries into solutions for our patients,” said Dr. Gregory Gores. Mayo Clinic’s Executive Dean of Research. “They should be a solutions shop to address human disease.”

The Kellen has undergone construction over the last two years, and Mayo has already moved a small number of employees here. The 11-story building takes up 176,000 square feet and will have approximately 75-80 employees per floor.

“We are still deciding on the people who should still be here,” said Y.S. Prakash, an anesthesiologist at Mayo. “Some of the things they are thinking about are brain cancer, which of course with the imaging aspects that will go on with the Alzheimer’s group, allows for synergy. The other aspect would be bone cancer, for example. There’s an entire group on muscular skeletal diseases that is interested in bone cancer. So they’ll be able to work with us.”

The Kellen has also been retro fitted for employee workspace accommodations to be as comfortable for researchers working here.

And both Gores and Prakash believe the Kellen’s overall design to accommodate employees and advance research will help lead to greater medical discoveries in cancer and Alzheimer’s treatment.

“What I love about the building, it’s open, it’s inspirational. It gives, it’s iconic. It should be inspirational, it should be multi generational and it will allow for these spontaneous activities to occur and really facilitate team science,” Gores said.

“We’re only as good as the people we work with and we want our people who work here to be inspired, to remain inspired. and it should be inspiring to others who want to come,” added Prakash.

The upper levels and exterior of the Kellen are still undergoing some construction. Mayo officials say they anticipate all construction to be completed by June of 2024.