Northside Hospital-Cherokee breaks ground on new facility
By Marcus Howard
Cherokee Tribune
WOODSTOCK — Northside Hospital-Cherokee’s new 100,817-square-foot, four-story medical office building on Towne Lake Parkway at Interstate 575 in Woodstock broke ground Thursday morning with promises of becoming an asset to the surrounding community.
Billy Hayes, CEO of Northside Hospital-Cherokee, said the Northside-Cherokee Towne Lake Medical Office Building will provide accessible health care to area residents and complement its 75,000-square-foot medical office building that opened on Sixes Road in 2010, which he called “very successful,” and a new 84-bed hospital behind Canton Marketplace.
“As we see Cherokee County continue to grow — Woodstock, Towne Lake and all the county grow — we felt it essential that we put this building here and have this location where it is so that it’s convenient for all of the citizens of Towne Lake and Woodstock to come, and give them easier access to better health care,” he said.
The new facility is scheduled to be completed by next August.
It will offer a variety of outpatient medical services and an array of physician practices representing numerous medical
specialties, including urgent care, primary care, pediatrics, radiology and cardiology.
Hayes said the building, which is being developed by Indianapolis-based Duke Realty, is quickly being leased. Duke Realty Towne Lake Development LLC will own the building and lease exclusively to Northside. A 350-space, three-story parking garage is also being built by Duke Realty, in addition to a 159-space surface lot.
Northside is committed to building medical office buildings throughout the county, said board member Billy Hasty, who is also chairman of the Cherokee Hospital Authority.
“The hospital has purchased several properties in the county and Sixes (Road) is a good example of what Northside has done and what Northside will be doing in the future,” he said.
About 100 people attended Thursday’s ground breaking ceremony, including county and Woodstock officials. A barbecue lunch was served following the ceremony’s speakers.
Northside Healthcare Delivery System includes three not-for-profit hospitals in Cherokee, Forsyth County and Atlanta with a total of 753 beds, as well as 15 affiliated outpatient centers and medical offices buildings in the metro area. It employs nearly 1,800 physicians and 5,000 staff members who serve about 700,000 patients annually, according to the company.
The newest medical office building will add to Northside’s footprint in Cherokee, where it traces its roots to a 64-bed facility known as R.T. Jones Regional Hospital in 1962. Dr. William Nichols, described as the “father of medical care” in Cherokee, was recognized during the ceremony.
The company is investing $250 million at its future site near Canton Marketplace. In addition to the 84-bed hospital, the campus will include a women’s center, a multi-specialty medical office building and cancer center, a 600-space parking deck and a surface parking lot with 300 spaces. It is expected to open by March 2015.
Dr. Carl Capelouto, Northside’s immediate past chief of staff, said it’s an exciting time to be a physician in the county. The new Woodstock medical office building will enhance the quality of care in south Cherokee, he said.
Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques said the building is another example of the city’s explosive growth over the past 20 years.
“Woodstock is the shining star and is the hub of Cherokee County. Even though Canton is the county seat, we don’t hold that against them,” said Henriques. “We know that Northside – Cherokee wouldn’t be complete without a location here in Woodstock. We think this is going to be a tremendous location for them.”
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