After sitting vacant for more than a year, Eau Claire’s former Sacred Heart Hospital has been purchased by a fundraising foundation for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The foundation’s head says it’s considering options for the 600,000 square foot building and property located near some of the campus’ dormitories.
A statement from Blugold Real Estate Executive Director Curt Krizan was light on details but said the organization is “excited about the future possibilities” for the former hospital and its 27-acre property.
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Since 1964, Sacred Heart Hospital has stood prominently along Eau Claire’s busy Clairemont Avenue. In January 2024, Hospital Sisters Health Systems, or HSHS, announced it would close the Eau Claire facility along with another hospital in Chippewa Falls and several clinics as part of a “complete exit from the Western Wisconsin region.”
Community leaders said they were shocked by the announcement, which was followed by unsuccessful attempts to keep the facilities open. HSHS closed the Eau Claire hospital in March 2024, and it has sat empty and dark since.
Terms of the sale of the Eau Claire Sacred Heart Hospital property were not disclosed by Blugold Real Estate. The statement said under the purchase agreement, the property was transferred to a nonprofit called BHEI, Inc. State business records show the entity was created around two months before Friday’s announcement from Blugold Real Estate.
“We are considering a number of options,” Krizan said. “This is a unique property in terms of its adjacency to the university, and the value of any real estate is tied to its location.”
The former hospital is within walking distance of nine UW-Eau Claire dormitories and a student recreation center.
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