SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) – Roper St. Francis Healthcare is set to reach a significant milestone in their construction of a new medical complex in Summerville.
Thursday afternoon they will be hosting a “topping off” ceremony, where they will place the final steel beam on the new medical complex. This will mark the end of the foundation and steel structure portion of the project. The next step will be to work on enclosing it.
This medical complex will be in the Sawmill community near downtown Summerville.
When completed, it will be a 40,000 square foot complex featuring an emergency department, ambulatory care and an imaging center with MRI, CT and X-ray machines. The complex will also contain a lab, a women’s imaging center and a surgery center.
Charles Fletcher is the vice president of real estate, construction and support services for Roper St. Francis. He says he has hopes for how this new facility will impact the community.
“I think the impact is meeting the needs of our patients. And so, ‘compassion, faith and excellence’ is our mission statement. This helps us kind of broaden that to the Dorchester County region and to those patients,” he says. “We don’t have an emergency room in Dorchester County, so this is a first step… in several of bringing additional medical facilities to that area.”
This will be one of two Roper buildings coming to the area. In addition to the new medical complex, Roper St. Francis will also be building a two-story, 20,000-square-foot medical office to further enhance services offered in the area. The complex is expected to be completed by January 2026 and the second building is set for April 2026.
The entire Sawmill project will also feature mixed-use buildings with retail spaces, offices and apartments. Fletcher shares that their goal is to make medical services more accessible for those they serve in the area. Being a part of a mixed-use development will make this more convenient for residents of Summerville.
“I think care is changing to where, you know, it’s a lot more outpatient and you need to be a lot more convenient for your patients. So, we want to be where they live and that’s a growing area, one of the fastest growing areas in the state. And so, we recognize that and we want to make sure all of our clinicians can live where they get care and we can provide care where all of our patients are. So, we’re excited to kind of advance that,” Fletcher says.
Roper St. Francis is working on expanding all across the Lowcountry as part of their 2030 strategic plan to optimize their footprint and provide accessible healthcare. In addition to the Summerville community, the healthcare system is also working on facilities in Berkeley County, Mount Pleasant and North Charleston.
Leaders will be placing the final steel beam on the Sawmill Centre complex Thursday at noon. The complex is located off the Berlin G. Myers Parkway on East Fifth North Street.
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