Construction begins on Fort Mill Medical Center. Photo from Greg Rickabaugh.

The long wait for construction on Fort Mill’s hospital is now over.

Piedmont Medical will begin work on the highly anticipated Fort Mill Medical Center, according to Caroline Hudson of The Charlotte Business Journal. The hospital will be the first in Fort Mill.

Located near the intersection of US 21 and S.C. Highway 160 across from The Peach Stand, the facility will be a 200,000-square foot building with three floors, a total of 100 medical beds, space for additional parking, and a helipad. There will also be room for expansion if needed.

Bulldozers and construction tools at the scene of the future hospital location. Photo from Greg Rickabaugh.

Despite the need for a hospital because of Fort Mill’s growth, the battle for the rights have been a complicated one for nearly a decade and a half.

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Piedmont Medical won the rights in 2006 over then-Presbyterian Healthcare (now Novant Health) and Carolinas HealthCare System (now Atrium Health).

However, Atrium took Piedmont to court numerous times over the next decade over the permission to build. Piedmont eventually gained control over the hospital following a state Supreme Court ruling in 2019 over Atrium’s appeals.

According to the company’s website, this will be Piedmont’s third hospital location following their flagship Piedmont Medical Center and Piedmont Women’s Tower locations in Rock Hill. The company also has three health locations in Fort Mill.

Fort Mill Medical Center is expected to open in 2022.

Mitchell Mercer has lived in Fort Mill since 2003 and graduated from Nation Ford High School in 2019. He currently attends Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC and is majoring in English-Communications....