The historic former First National Bank building in downtown Grand Forks has a new owner and soon will be renamed the Edgewood Corporate Plaza.
Edgewood Real Estate Investment Trust and Edgewood Management Group, which operates senior living facilities throughout the Upper Midwest and parts of the Mountain West, said Wednesday that they had bought the five-story property on Fourth Street and DeMers Avenue.
The previous owner was developer Jim Hawley, who acquired the building a year after the Flood of 1997. It has been mostly vacant since that time.
The Edgewood companies plan to remodel the fifth floor, which will house about 35 corporate staff, and the second floor in hopes of attracting a tenant.
Philip Gisi, president and CEO of Edgewood Management Group, said staff will move in this fall.
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About 40 percent of the building is occupied. SEI Information Technology is on the third and about half of the fourth floor, while several insurance and financial offices are on the first and second floors.
They will also remodel about 1,000 square feet of the first floor for use as a training center for their staff and those of other local businesses.
Big network
Edgewood formed in 1992 and moved its corporate offices to the Gate City Bank off Columbia Road in Grand Forks in 1998.
"We're excited about the move," Gisi said. "It's a beautiful building, great architecture," he said. "It's probably one of the nicest downtown, and it's got the history of downtown."
Edgewood REIT owns six assisted-living facilities in Minnesota, South Dakota and Idaho, and is in the process of purchasing other senior housing properties, which it will lease to Edgewood Management Group.
The company also owns apartment buildings in Minot and is in the process of building a 129-unit apartment complex in Bismarck.
Edgewood Management Group, which does business as Edgewood Vista, owns or operates 42 independent-living, assisted-living and memory-care facilities for those with Alzheimer's disease. The company employs about 2,000 and boasts 2,500 beds in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho.
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Locally, it's known for Edgewood Vista in East Grand Forks and Tamarac Senior Living in Stephen, Minn.
Russ Kubik, Edgewood Management Group chief operations officer, said he expects employees from all seven states will use the downtown training facility, including in food service and nursing skills.
This state-of-the-art training facility will help us provide a spacious and functional environment, something we lack today," he said.
Reach Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or send email to kbonham@gfherald.com .
