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Builder updates North Charleston leaders on hospital progress, safety partnership and local hiring
Summary
A project representative told the finance committee that foundation work is just over halfway done, steel installation is about 21% complete and the team has formed a cooperative safety partnership with South Carolina OSHA; the presenter said local hiring and job-fair outreach are priorities.
A project representative told the City of North Charleston finance committee on June 18 that the new hospital campus is progressing on schedule, with foundation work just over the halfway mark and approximately 21% of an expected 5,000 tons of structural steel already installed.
The presenter said major concrete pours are scheduled overnight or early in the morning to avoid heat-related setting problems and to accommodate truck access from off-site batching plants. He said work on a staff parking garage will begin in about two weeks and that the medical office building and visitor garage will be constructed concurrently.
“We do most of our major concrete pours at night for a couple of reasons,” the presenter said, explaining the timing decision and traffic-management needs. He showed recent drone imagery and noted the tower is up to the third floor; the project will rise to 11 stories plus a rooftop helipad.
On safety, the presenter announced a cooperative partnership with the South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), describing it as a joint program of scheduled site visits and collaborative inquiry rather than reactive inspections. He also said the project partner Roper Saint Francis will station a clinician in a trailer on-site to triage minor injuries without sending workers off-site.
On workforce, the presenter said the contractor is balancing large regional subcontractors with locally based firms so that senior management may travel from regional offices while most trade workers are hired from the local labor pool. He described outreach events and job fairs held with local partners to connect small hauling, janitorial and other vendors with prime contractors.
Council members asked about project timing and design. A councilmember noted that the exterior can appear finished long before the interior systems are complete; the presenter said the project’s substantial completion date is March 29 (year per contract) but that fit-out and system commissioning delay patient occupancy for many months after exterior completion.
The presenter agreed to share slide materials with council staff to help members communicate progress to constituents and said the project team welcomes direct questions routed through Roper Saint Francis.
The committee did not take an action on the construction update; the presentation served as an informational briefing and closed with questions and follow-up commitments.
