Construction Gets Underway for New Roper St. Francis Data Center in North Charleston

North Charleston officials, healthcare executives and project leaders dug shovels into the earth today to mark the beginning of construction on the new Roper St. Francis Healthcare (RSFH) Data Center. The groundbreaking event was held on the center’s 24-acre site located in North Charleston’s Palmetto Commerce Park off Ashley Phosphate Road.

Facts about... Acreage - 24 Square footage of complete center - 17,227 Primary construction material - tilt wall construction/concrete Manpower during construction - 31,000 man-hours Construction phase benefit to local economy - $1,700,00 Number of employees house in center (phase one) - 10 Design-builder - Clayco, Inc.

“With information technology at the forefront of national healthcare discussions the timing of this project is perfect and it is no accident. This data center will provide the muscle behind Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s long-term strategic plan,” said David Dunlap, President and CEO, Roper St. Francis Healthcare. “With electronic medical records becoming fully integrated at our facilities and doctors’ offices, this data center will mean increased capacity for our communications systems which will in turn lead to greater efficiency for the almost 300,000 people we serve annually.”

Speaking at the newly cleared construction site, John Holloway, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Roper St. Francis Foundation and data center project chairman said the facility will serve as a safe harbor for the consolidation of 40 tons of equipment that provide electronic communications to more than 100 RSFH facilities throughout a nine-county area.

“This isn’t just about computer servers and wires, it’s about computerized physician order entry, decision support systems and coding for the administration of medications,” Holloway said. “This is about the work of caring for patients, and in 21st century healthcare that means advanced and highly protected information technology.”

A concrete, tilt-wall construction design, the data center will measure 17,000 square-feet, including the facility’s mechanical yard. Once the center is fully operational RSFH should have unlimited capability to support future growth related to technological needs.

The structure has also been designed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane (160 MPH winds) and an above-code seismic event, which RSFH Vice President and Chief Information Officer Mike Taylor says will reduce the risk of catastrophic facility failure.

“We chose the Palmetto Commerce Park site because of the utility services available there, the accessibility and the inland location,” said Taylor. “Our equipment will soon be centralized and with redundant operational capability, we will have an increased margin of safety to protect against information technology process disruptions contributing to the long-term health and viability of our enterprise.”

The design contractor for the project is Clayco, Inc. Subcontracting services are being provided by 16 local companies and eight regional subcontractors from North Carolina and South Carolina.

“Palmetto Commerce Park in North Charleston was determined to be the perfect location for this important Roper St. Francis project,” said North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey. “We are excited to see the construction phase get underway, which is expected to contribute than $1.7 million to North Charleston’s economy over the next year.”

The RSFH data center is expected to be open early summer, 2013, staffed by 10-15 employees.

New park and state of the art sports complex coming to North Charleston

In Spring 2013, city of North Charleston residents will begin playing ball at Wescott Park, a new state of the art sports complex with a Ripken Training Facility, which broke ground on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 10:00 am. The 48-acre park will be located behind Fire Station 11 at 9002 Dorchester Road.

Each of the three ball fields at Wescott Park have been designed differently to scale of Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park, Atlanta Braves’ Turner Field, and San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park. The field in the image of Boston’s Fenway Park will even feature the “Green Monster.” Each field will be equipped for baseball and softball for athletes 12 years old and under.

A Ripken Training Circle, patented by Cal and Bill Ripken, will be incorporated into the facility for instruction and practice of our rising baseball players. The design of the Circle allows for bases and home plates to be substituted for teaching of fundamentals and drills, maximizing the efficiency of instruction. To complete the park as a Ripken Training Facility, batting cages and pitching mounds will be incorporated.

Apart from being a sports complex, Wescott Park will feature passive areas for visitors to enjoy, including an amphitheater for outdoor performances, greenspaces and multi-purpose fields, walking trails through the park’s wetlands, and a number of enclosed and open air shelters for a variety of community and family events.

In cooperation with our school partners, the park will have a direct connection to Fort Dorchester Elementary School. With a direct pathway in close proximity to the school, Wescott Park will add to the recreational opportunities for Fort Dorchester’s students and teachers.

Renderings of Wescott Park

City of North Charleston breaks ground on 20th community center

The City of North Charleston broke ground on its newest community center located adjacent to Doorway Baptist Church on Thursday, September 15, 2011.

Dorchester Road Community Center will become North Charleston’s 20th community center.  The center will be utilized for neighborhood association meetings, afterschool programming, senior activities, and will be a summer camp site.

Mayor Summey stated, “We are proud to begin construction on the latest addition to our inventory of community centers that dot the City.  This center is a terrific expansion of recreational and civic services offered to the citizens of our city and will help us meet the needs of the growing population of the upper Dorchester Road corridor.”

The 4,400 sq ft facility is expected to be completed in the Spring 2012.

Green Grove Community Center Ground Breaking

The City of North Charleston will broke ground on its newest community center at 2634 Bennett Yard Road on Thursday, March 17, 2011.

Green Grove Community Center will become North Charleston’s 19th community center.  The center will be utilized for neighborhood association meetings, afterschool programming, senior activities, and will be a summer camp site.

Prior to the ceremony, Mayor Summey stated, “The residents of Green Grove have always been involved in neighborhood activities, but have lacked a common location to gather.  This is a terrific expansion of recreational and civic services offered to the citizens of our city.”

North Charleston Fire Station 5 Grand Opening

The North Charleston Fire Department, City Council, and Mayor R. Keith Summey hosted a Grand Opening for Fire Station 5, located at 6265 Dorchester Road, on Friday, February 18, 2011 at 11:00 am.

The ceremony will include remarks, a ribbon cutting, and a traditional station “WetDown.”  Station tours will be given after the ceremony.

The Station will house an engine and a ladder truck with a total of eight crew members each day.

View Fire Station 5 in a larger map

Replacement of Fire Station 5 has begun

The North Charleston Fire Department, City Council, and Mayor R. Keith Summey broke ground on Fire Station 5 on May 20, 2010. The new fire station will be located across the street from the current fire station on Dorchester Road between Covington Hills and Jericho on the Ashley.

When the City conducted inspections of all facilities in November 2007, it was determined that Fire Station 5 needed a complete renovation. The renovation would have taken 6 months and require temporary housing (trailers) for fire personnel. Instead of renovating the station at the current site, which the City leases from the Air Force, it was deemed wiser to construct an up to date station on city owned property.

The new station will contain an additional bay that will house reserve or specialized equipment, some of which is currently stored outside due to lack of space. It will contain a weight room for the crews to maintain a higher level of physical fitness and a day room equipped for classroom training for the crews while they maintain coverage in the area. The new station will also contain living space for a Battalion Chief, as our Battalion Chiefs currently stay at other stations dictated more by space limitations rather than strategic determinations.

View Fire Station 5 in a larger map

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