MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) — Roper St. Francis plans to build a three-story medical facility on a site that was contaminated from a former car dealership in Mt. Pleasant after receiving approval for a property tax exemption to help cover cleanup costs.
The Charleston County Finance Committee approved a five-year property tax exemption for the healthcare system to develop the nearly 66,000 square foot facility on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard, which has sat vacant for nearly a decade since the dealership was demolished.
Dr. Megan Baker, Chief Clinical Officer for Roper St. Francis, says the circumstances of the site leave a hefty price tag.
“There was a lot of automotive repairs and work that was done, and predictably, there’s some soil contamination related to that previous work,” said Baker. “Given its prior history, this was not a surprise to us.”
Baker said municipalities customarily provide tax relief to buyers of contaminated properties to help cover cleanup costs, as Roper is willing to pay the cost of cleanup.
Merle Johnson, Charleston County Economic Development Director, said the site has been vacant for years, partly due to finding someone who is willing to invest in the clean-up process.
“I know it’s been a very long time,” Johnson said. “Part of it was due to the cleanup, right? It takes time to get that site cleaned up, and so we just had to wait till it got cleaned up.”
Files show Roper entered into a Voluntary Cleanup Contract in 2021, around the time they purchased the property. The healthcare system says it has received approval from the town’s design review board to begin cleanup while constructing the building.
The facility will house multi-specialty services, including oncology, women’s services, lab and imaging, and a freestanding emergency department for Mt. Pleasant residents.
“With developments like this, you work in collaboration with your county municipality, and you enter into a VCC or a voluntary cleanup contract and work hand in hand to make sure that this is done for the betterment of the community,” Baker said.
With Mt. Pleasant primarily having an older demographic comes with a higher incidence of cancer compared to other parts of the Tri-County area, elevating the need for services specifically in the southern anchor.
Johnson says the property tax exemption requires approval at next week’s county council meeting. Baker said construction is expected to begin in early 2026.
Roper St. Francis to build medical pavilion on former Mt. Pleasant dealership site
