Mayo Clinic Health System to open downtown La Crosse clinic

Another business in La Crosse's new Belle Square development is getting ready to open its doors.

Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare is opening a new clinic Thursday to serve the downtown area.

"What it's meant to do is actually to provide an additional location for individuals who may have semi-urgent or pressing needs who can't necessarily wait for the next three weeks, but may be appropriate to be seen within the next several days or the same day," said Joe Behn, Medical Director of the new clinic.

The clinic chose to move into Belle Square to keep up with a changing downtown.

"There's so much development, so much vibrancy going on downtown that we felt there was a definite need to add a clinic so that people can get their healthcare where they're living and working," said Dave Mattheis, Operations Director for Mayo Clinic Health System.

The rest of Belle Square is nearing completion too.

The property's manager, Mark Von Ruden, says construction on the residential tower is done, with people already living there.

"The residents that live here, they want to live, work, and play and it's all happening in downtown," said Von Ruden. "So what better way, you can live in the residential tower, walk across our rooftop terrace and head into work in the commercial tower. It's been a positive working experience with everyone located within the development here."

After a little more than two years of work, construction on the commercial tower is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2018.