Roper hospital construction starts in North Charleston
The move will relocate roughly 330 beds from the peninsula to North Charleston, said Troy Powell, Roper’s regional president for two of its local hospitals.
“I’d be hard-pressed to think of how many projects like that are going on in the country at any given time,” he said. “So. yeah, so it’s a huge undertaking because you’re doing all of that at one time.”
The new campus will include a 10-story hospital, separate staff and visitor parking, a medical office building, rehabilitation center and greenway paths.
A rendering of the future Roper Hospital being built in North Charleston.
The four-year construction project is expected to generate $2.5 billion in economic activity. For every dollar spent on the effort, $3.26 flows through the local economy, according to a report from the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.
Roper’s goal in moving is to meet more local residents where they live as the community grows. Among the state’s largest cities, North Charleston saw one of the biggest population booms from July 2024 to 2025, with a 3.5 percent gain that added 4,265 residents in the year.
“As much as we’re actually trying to prepare for that with the rate of growth that we’re seeing in the area, we’re actually seeing that even these hospitals will be reaching their capacity within the next five to 10 years,” Powell said. “It’s one of these things that as rapidly as this market is growing, it’s hard to keep up.”
S.C. Sen. Deon Tedder, D-North Charleston, said the projected 3,600 jobs that the construction work will bring to the area is a huge win for his district.
“I’m excited about the jobs and that they’re moving closer to where people live, where the workers and employees will live,” he said.
Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s new North Charleston campus will be built where the former city hall stands.
Besides the North Charleston hub, Roper is investing in other growth areas to increase its local footprint. For example, the health system expects to wrap up a $320 million expansion that will double its Berkeley Hospital to 100 beds by November. Also, its Sawmill Health Plex is Summerville is on track to open for the first quarter next year as a free-standing emergency department with operating rooms, a laboratory and radiology services.
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