A New Orthopedic Center Is Opening in Baxter This Fall

Healthcare has always been part of Baxter's appeal, and the biggest single addition in years is nearly ready. Essentia Health is wrapping up construction on a nearly 60,000-square-foot orthopedic center at 14275 Edgewood Drive North, on the site of the former Camping World building, with the opening targeted for this fall. For buyers weighing Baxter for year-round living or a retirement move, the facility is more than a building. It is one more reason the city keeps winning over families and empty nesters.

What is being built on Edgewood Drive?

The orthopedic center is a nearly 60,000-square-foot facility going up on the former Camping World property, a site that has previously housed big-box retail. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held May 13, 2025, and a late-2026 opening has been the working target, with a November 2026 opening reported during a May 2026 tour. Widseth, a firm that has worked with Essentia for years, is managing the construction.

What services will it bring to Baxter?

The facility is designed around musculoskeletal care rather than general medicine. It will include orthopedic surgery consultations, podiatry, rheumatology, endocrinology, interventional pain care, sports medicine, spine care, and orthopedic urgent care, plus imaging and an indoor and outdoor rehabilitation gym. By the numbers, that means roughly 62 exam rooms, six procedure rooms, an urgent care clinic, and a drive-thru pharmacy. Essentia also plans to relocate its existing Baxter Urgent Care Clinic from Isle Drive into the new center, which keeps urgent care convenient while freeing up the older space.

What does it mean for the community?

The orthopedic center adds skilled jobs and puts a specialty facility a few minutes from home instead of a drive away. For the active-adult and senior buyers Baxter has been attracting, that matters: sports medicine for grandkids, spine and pain care for parents, and urgent care for everyone, all on one campus. It also reinforces the corridor story. When a health system invests at this scale in a community, it is betting on the year-round population, not the summer visitors, and that is the same bet most Baxter home buyers are making.

The honest read

Baxter's growth has been visible for years in retail and housing, and healthcare is now catching up. The orthopedic center is the kind of amenity that does not show up in a listing photo, but it shows up in daily life, in resale appeal, and in the confidence out-of-town buyers feel about living here full time.

If you are looking at Baxter, the Baxter community guide covers the neighborhoods and lakes, and our post on Baxter's growth along Highway 371 puts the new development in context. Or schedule a call when you are ready to talk specifics. Cheers!