by April Scheinoha
Reporter
Landwehr Construction of St. Cloud is working on the demolition of the former Sanford Health in downtown Thief River Falls. A Sanford Health spokesperson said demolition and backfilling is expected to be completed in late spring.
As part of this project, Sanford plans to add a new facade on the east side of its Behavioral Health building, which will remain at the site. The spokesperson declined at this time to provide any information on redevelopment plans for the property.
With the exception of the area that formerly housed the Wellness Center, the soon-to-be-demolished portions have remained vacant since Sanford Health consolidated the hospital and clinic at its new location along Highway 32 in 2014.
Immediately prior to becoming Sanford Health, the facility was known as MeritCare and prior to that Northwest Medical Center.
In October, it was announced that an undisclosed entity had entered into a purchase agreement for a portion of the former downtown hospital. While there is no word on the developer, in March 2022, a potential developer, EPIC Companies, met with city officials as part of a fact-finding mission.