Northside Hospital's Towne Lake Facility To Open In 2013

Northside Hospital continues to expand its footprint in Cherokee County.

The company held a groundbreaking on Thursday to welcome its newest facility, a 100,817-square-foot medical office building at the northwest corner of Interstate 575 and Towne Lake Parkway in Woodstock

City, county and business leaders were on hand for the event. 

Northside Hospital-Cherokee CEO Billy Hayes said both the city of Woodstock and Cherokee County have been nothing short but of accommodating and supportive of the company's plans for the area.

"Everyone has bent over backwards and has done an outstanding job," he said, "And we appreciate that."

Some practices that will greet patients include urgent care, a comprehensive radiology presence, cardiology, primary care practices, pediatrics and "other sub-specialists," Hayes said.

"Northside is committed to making sure that we offer health care and to have accessible health care in the service areas in the counties we are in," he said, adding the company felt it was "essential" to build the facility in the Towne Lake area.

The medical campus is under construction and is slated to open as early as August 2013. It will also contain 509 surface and parking deck spaces.

The new building is located roughly four miles from its Northside/Holly Springs facility on Sixes Road and about 11 miles from the campus of its replacement 84-bed facility along Commerce Boulevard in Canton. Hayes noted Northside's newest addition will compliment what the company has done in both Holly Springs and Canton.

Canton attorney Billy Hasty, who sits on the Northside Hospital's board of directors, added he felt the groundbreaking is "another example of Northside's commitment" to providing quality care to Atlanta area citizens.

Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques added he was also excited to see the facility come into Woodstock and added it was "only natural" that the city seek out a partnership with Northside Hospital-Cherokee as its commitment to the community became evident.

The mayor noted Northside has been a "good corporate partner" with the city in its sponsorship of the city's Summer Concert Series. The hospital also won the naming rights for the city's proposed amphitheatre, which would be situated at the Park at City Center.

Henriques noted he's also glad to get a more appropriate building in the place where the facility will be built. The facility replaces the Madison Pointe retail development, which the mayor describes as the "bane of my existence." Henriques noted the retail development "just wasn't a good fit" for the area and said he commends Northside's commitment to the project.

Henriques also mused about the dramatic growth Woodstock has seen over the last 20 years. When he moved to the city, Henriques said the population was around 5,000 people and Towne Lake Parkway was only two lanes and had no development. In 2000 when he was elected to the Woodstock City Council, the city had 8,000 people and now the county's most southern city has a population reaching 26,000. 

"Woodstock is the shining star and is the hub of Cherokee County, even though Canton is the county seat," he said. "We know that Northside Cherokee wouldn't be complete without a location here in Woodstock and we think this is going to be a tremendous location for them."