Essentia Health to open clinic in former Wells Fargo building in downtown Moorhead – InForum

MOORHEAD — Essentia Health plans to turn a large downtown Moorhead building into a family medicine clinic.

On Friday, Jan. 30, Essentia Health announced plans to open a clinic in the former Wells Fargo building at 730 Center Ave. The clinic will have 10 exam rooms and one procedural room, along with laboratory and radiology services, according to Essentia.

Dr. Stefanie Gefroh, Essentia Health West Market president, said the clinic will be an estimated $7 million investment in downtown Moorhead.

“As this community grows and more people choose to raise their families here, we know that there is an increasing need for expanded primary care services,” Gefroh said. “We’re proud to meet that need by expanding access to family medicine and wellness care.”

The Wells Fargo branch in the building

closed in 2023,

and the building has since been vacant.

Building renovations are expected to begin later this year, with a goal of opening the clinic by summer 2027.

While the biggest need in Moorhead now is primary care and family medicine, the large building has space to someday house other services, such as therapy or access to specialists, Gefroh said.

“We could have potentially a one-stop care setting for patients,” Gefroh said. “There’s so much opportunity with the space.”

Downtown Moorhead Inc. President and CEO Matt Leiseth said the clinic is a critical piece of the larger

downtown Moorhead revitalization.

Over the last couple years, the Moorhead Center Mall has been torn down to make way for new commercial buildings, housing and public amenities.

“Having Essentia right here in the heart of downtown means we’ll have a place where we can live, work and access essential services, all within a walkable distance,” Leiseth said. “The project transforms this beautiful former bank building and gives it a new purpose, which is exactly what revitalization is all about.”

While Moorhead Mayor Shelly Carlson was not at Friday’s event, in an Essentia press release, she said that by renovating the building and operating health services there, Essentia will become a cornerstone of downtown.

“This new clinic represents more than a building,” Carlson said. “Health care is essential community infrastructure. Essentia Health is making a commitment to the health and vitality of Moorhead and we are grateful.”

Last year, Essentia announced a

$1 million donation to the new Moorhead community center and library

to support the walking loop inside the building. At the same time, it announced a future donation to fund improvements to the path along the Red River in downtown Moorhead.

Essentia currently runs a walk-in clinic in downtown Moorhead and a family medicine clinic on U.S. Highway 75, south of Interstate 94.