Roper St. Francis breaks ground on $1.2B North Charleston hospital

After 170 years in the Lowcountry, Roper St. Francis Healthcare broke ground Wednesday on a new hospital aimed to employ about 3,600 construction workers over its four-year development.

The $1.2 billion project has been in the works for about three years with plans for completion in 2029.  

Once finished, the new Roper St. Francis hospital campus will have a 24-hour emergency department, operating rooms, hybrid suites, a medical office for outpatient services, a greenbelt around the campus and a test kitchen featuring local chefs.  

“Roper Hospital is more than a building,” North Charleston Mayor Reginald Burgess said. “It’s a symbol of progress, hope and commitment to our community. I’m truly honored that North Charleston, the third largest city in South Carolina, will be home to this transformative project.” 

Following its completion, the hospital is projected to make a $2.5 billion impact on the region per year, Charles Fletcher, vice president of construction, real estate and support services, said.  

“Today’s celebration is the culmination of years of planning, hours of teammate design input and unwavering support from our design and construction partners,” Fletcher said. 

Fletcher said about five years ago, the Roper St. Francis team looked at where the population was growing to optimize the organization’s footprint. Considering struggles with flooding and updates to the downtown hospital building, they decided on North Charleston for the new location. 

The new hospital, located at 2401 Mall Drive, will cover 27 acres with about 1.5 million square feet of new building, Fletcher said.  

“We’re not just erecting walls and hallways,” said President and CEO Joseph DeLeon. “We’re building the next chapter of a nearly two-century-old story where each brick represents a patient, loved one, teammate or community member who has been or will be touched by our mission of healing all people with compassion, faith and excellence.” 

The campus design is led by E4H Environments for Health Architecture and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Barton Malow Builders and Edifice Construction serve as general contractors.  

“I’ve been a proud St. Francis foundation member for over 10 years. I had my son at St. Francis; my mother and family were treated at St. Francis,” Pamela Evette, South Carolina lieutenant governor, said. “So, I keep thinking, ‘What makes St. Francis something that pulls me back all the time?’ It’s because they don’t just treat the body, they treat the spirit, and that is something really special.”