MINOT, ND—Not surprisingly, the oil boom in North Dakota is fueling demand for more healthcare services. As the population booms in once-sleepy hamlets in the northwest part of the state, healthcare providers are feeling the need to expand their services to keep up with an influx of people relocating in the area to work in the ever-expanding oil production business.

One place seeing substantial growth is Minot, a city that saw only mild population gains prior to the early 2000s. However, ever since oil production ramped up in the Bakken Oil Formation just more than a decade ago, the city's population has jumped from about 35,000 residents to more than 46,000.

To keep up with demand, a national healthcare development firm and its partner in the project, Bismarck, ND-based St. Alexius Medical Center, have started construction on a future 67,000 square ambulatory care center building on a greenfield site in the northwestern part of town.

The developer is Denver-based NexCore Group LLC, which will own the two-story St. Alexius Minot Medical Plaza at 2111 Landmark Circle.

For St. Alexius, which has provided outpatient services in Minot at a smaller, converted office building for about six years, the new facility will allow it to expand its service offerings significantly. Those will include primary care and a number of specialty services, including orthopedics, gastroenterology and ophthalmology

The building will also be home to physical and occupational therapy, a diagnostic laboratory, diagnostic imaging (x-ray, mammography, MRI, CT), and an ambulatory surgery center (ASC).

Ever since St. Alexius began providing services in Minot, its patient base has grown steadily, according to Todd Varney, executive managing director of development for NexCore Group.

“The new (St. Alexius Minot Medical Plaza) will allow (St. Alexius) to recruit additional physicians to the Minot community and provide specialty services that patients want closer to home,” Mr. Varney said. “The new facility and expanded services will definitely cut down on the amount of time patients currently spend traveling from Minot to Bismarck for specialty services.”

In a statement from St. Alexius, Kurt Waldbillig, VP of Physician Services & Outreach, explained why the system is having NexCore develop and own the facility, which is slated for completion in July 2015.

“In a time of uncertainty in today's healthcare, St. Alexius felt it was in our best interest to look to an outside entity to help with the development, design and financing of our facility,” Mr. Waldbillig said, adding that NexCore has “invested time and money to make sure the product we were going to deliver was the right product for the community. Their commitment to detail has been great, but their commitment to making sure we deliver a product that matches the mission of our organization has been most important.”

The architect on the project is Minneapolis-based HGA; and the construction manager is Indianapolis-based F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. Inc. NexCore will provide property management services.

John B. Mugford is the Editor of Healthcare Real Estate Insights™, the nation's first and only publication totally dedicated to covering news and trends in healthcare real estate development, financing and investment. For more information, please visit www.HREInsights.com.