By Jonathan E. Coleman
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While officials with CMC-NorthEast await word from the state on an appeal to put an emergency care facility in Harrisburg, Novant Health is positioning itself to build a facility in the town’s mixed-use Town Center.
According to land records, Novant paid J&B Development $1.3 million for a 22.5 acre parcel of land in Town Center.
While Marcia Meredith, a spokeswoman from Presbyterian Hospital/Novant in Charlotte, confirmed the sale, she stopped short of saying what type of facility might be built on the site.
Novant has not filed a Certificate of Need (CON) with the North Carolina Division of Facility Services, she said. CONs must be approved by the state to limit the development of unnecessary health care services and facilities.
According to Harrisburg Town Planner Josh Watkins, the town has not received plans from Novant about a new facility, but the town’s Planned Unit Development (PUD) does allow for uses including a medical center within Town Center.
Meanwhile, CMC-NorthEast is awaiting the state’s decision on its appeal for a nearly 24,000-square-foot emergency care facility located near the intersection of Rocky River Road and Interstate 485 in Harrisburg. That decision is expected soon, according to CMC-NorthEast spokesman Lee Brower.
“Negotiations are going very well with the CON section of the state,” Brower said. “They anticipate an answer back within the next couple of weeks, but at this point, we’re still in the negotiation stages.”
Based on the original CON, the $23 million center would include a full emergency department, a diagnostic center and a women’s imaging center that would offer mammograms.
NorthEast Medical Center, which became CMC-NorthEast when it merged with Carolinas HealthCare System on July 1, originally filed a CON for its Harrisburg facility in November.
That CON was denied in March, in part because of a proposed hospital planned for Mint Hill. That facility, proposed by Presbyterian Hospital/Novant, would include 50-beds, a full emergency department, imaging center and surgical facilities, according to Meredith and has a price tag of $90 million.
• Contact Jonathan E. Coleman: 704-789-9105. Independent Tribune Ben McNeely contributed to this report.