MedCraft to Expand MN Essentia Health Facility

By Ariela Moraru

Rendering of Lakewood Heights Professional Building expansion

MedCraft Healthcare Real Estate has partnered with Essentia Health and a group of physicians to expand access to affordable, high-quality health care services in Itasca County and surrounding areas. Essentia plans to invest $14 million to expand its Grand Rapids Clinic and become a partner of Lakewood Surgery Center. The expansion is slated for completion by May 2018.

Located at 1542 Golf Course Road in Grand Rapids, Minn., Lakewood Surgery Center has been serving patients for the past 11 years and operates in the same building as Essentia Health Grand Rapids Clinic. MedCraft purchased the 37,126-square-foot Lakewood Heights Professional Building for $9.2 million with financing from Grand Rapids State Bank, according to Finance and Commerce. The company will develop the expansion on a turnkey basis, so that Essentia can invest its resources into complementing existing Lakewood services with expanded primary, specialty and diagnostic services, along with a retail pharmacy.

The project will nearly double the size of the clinic, bringing it to 63,759 square feet. The expansion will provide access to cardiology, podiatry and orthopedics services, as well as urology, nose, ear and throat care and oral surgery. Essentia will expand from six exam rooms to 24. About a quarter of the finished building will be leased to other tenants. The $20 million project, which is next door to the Itasca Grand Clinic & Hospital, broke ground in July. Kraus-Anderson will serve as general contractor for the 26,633-square-foot expansion designed by BWBR.

Minimizing risks

“The decision to partner with local physicians and a real estate developer to acquire and expand the existing facility makes strategic sense,” said Jim Berarducci of Berarducci & Co., a strategic advisor for Essentia on the project, in prepared remarks. “Establishing a new location in a competitive market can be a risky move, but partnering with well-respected physicians in the community to build on existing services and leveraging the capital and expertise from an experienced healthcare developer like MedCraft allows Essentia to enter the market quickly while minimizing its financial risk.”

MedCraft also recently wrapped up a 60,000-square-foot outpatient facility in Howell, Mich.

Image courtesy of MedCraft