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A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Pre-construction of the warehouse at the corner of Airport and Jolicouer roads was ongoing Tuesday, with excavators crawling all over the property. The warehouse, to be located on more than 20 acres owned by the Band, will be used to store medical and health care supplies.
Essentia Health isn't the only health care provider currently in the process of constructing a warehouse in Carlton County.
While not nearly as sprawling as the 163,000-square-foot hospital warehouse in Esko, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is building a warehouse at the corner of Airport and Jolicouer roads.
The 100-by-60-foot warehouse will serve the Band's nearby Min No Aya Win Human Services Center, and its assorted clinics, which provide medical, dental, behavioral health, social services and a pharmacy on the reservation.
"The clinics order volumes of supplies for all their needs, which they currently store onsite at each clinic," said an environmental assessment of the project by the Band's Environmental Program. "Due to space limitations, they are limited to how much they can order and store of a given item at one time."
A warehouse will allow the Band to order certain items in larger quantities, at a cost savings, the assessment report said. The environmental office made its recommendation to build to the Reservation Business Committee in September.
The cost of the project is unknown. Efforts to reach the Band for comment about the site were unsuccessful.
The properties associated with the project are owned by the Band, and total more than 20 acres, including a $291,000 residence at the very corner. The land value was more than $90,000 total, according to Carlton County assessed market values in 2023.
Work on the lots proceeded throughout a mild December, with tall timbers coming down and an assortment of heavy machines excavating the grounds and digging a foundation.
The warehouse will feature two parking lots, and vehicle drive access, along with space for a delivery truck turnaround, the assessment report said.
The environmental assessment notes the Otter and Jolicouer creeks running roughly a mile and half-mile from the site, respectively, but that neither creek, nor any other wetland, will be impacted. The assessment added that some vegetation would be destroyed and "minor grading" near the foundation and slab would result. The project was also found to meet national ambient air quality standards.
Construction would provide short-term employment for a few Band members, the assessment said. Work is being conducted by the Duluth office of Gardner Builders.
The property was formerly part of the Green Acres subdivision in Cloquet and once-known as the Rosen property.
