ROCK HILL — Novant Health is finalizing plans for a $300 million medical campus in Rock Hill at the Palmetto Research Park, formerly the proposed site of a Carolina Panthers headquarters and practice facility, after unanimous approval by the Rock Hill City Council on June 8.
After approval of the purchase and sale agreement of a 25-acre area at the research park, a due diligence period begins for Novant Health to investigate the site prior to closing. The deal is expected to be finalized by the end of October.
“Our push for this site has been life sciences,” Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys said. “And a hospital fits that definition and helps us make a broader argument about the corridor from Charlotte to Columbia being a real opportunity for life science jobs to come to this region.”
Novant’s Rock Hill campus is expected to create 255 jobs, and Gettys cited the wages that will be paid to employees there as a positive for the city. The deal had been in the works for a year or more, he said.
“Rock Hill is growing tremendously,” Gettys said. “We’ll now be a two-hospital town. There’s something to say about a city that has two hospitals.”
The Palmetto Research Park property, located at Palmetto Parkway and Mt. Gallant Road, is owned by the city of Rock Hill. The 200-plus-acre site is adjacent to I-77 and served by exit 81, with 109 acres of contiguous developable land.
“This land purchase reflects our continued commitment to expanding access to care in Rock Hill and the surrounding communities,” said Chris Bowe, Novant Health senior vice president and regional president of the Charlotte Region. “Novant Health has proudly served Rock Hill and the surrounding communities for many years through our specialty institutes, physician clinics, and more recently through our investment in Miracle Park.”
“We’re incredibly grateful for the relationships we’ve built in this community and look forward to sharing more about our planned medical campus and long-term commitment to bringing remarkable health care closer to home,” Bowe added.
Novant Health, headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., operates more than 900 facilities across North Carolina and South Carolina, including 19 medical centers.
In October 2025, while seeking reelection, Gettys said finding tenants for Palmetto Research Park was among the top goals for his current term as mayor.
Gettys said the time and sweat equity spent on the project are beginning to pay off.
“Within a year, I think we’ll see some really good things out there,” he said. “We’ve got the opportunity to make that something that’s even better than it was going to be.”