Wells Fargo Building will Become Apartments

Tom Giffey |

The downtown home of Wells Fargo will be converted into a high-end apartment building with commercial space below, the building’s new owner says. Brian Johnson of JCap Real Estate of Eau Claire finalized the purchase of the six-story building at 204 E. Grand Ave. on Aug. 25. Johnson says construction will begin by the end of the year to turn the upper four floors into 1,400- to 1,600-square-foot apartments with amenities such as granite countertops, hardwood floors, and individual rooftop patios. “Some of the old buildings have a great amount of character,” says Johnson, whose company already owns several apartment buildings in the neighborhood. “ We’ve seen a lot of demand for nice downtown apartments.” Johnson says that Wells Fargo will remain in the building for at least six months, possibly longer, and intends to move retail banking operations to its drive-in location across Graham Avenue. If the bank does fully move out, Johnson speculates the ground floor would make a good space for a restaurant. The brick building, which was built in 1929, is assessed by the city at $1.65 million, but Johnson told WQOW-TV that his company purchased it for $750,000.