Roper St. Francis battles Trident center's expansion

  • Posted: Monday, July 18, 2011 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 10:45 p.m.
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Trident says the proposed expansion of its Summerville Medical Center would require 250 construction workers and create 50 permanent jobs at the hospital.
/FileTrident says the proposed expansion of its Summerville Medical Center would require 250 construction workers and create 50 permanent jobs at the hospital.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare is fighting Trident Health System's proposed $26 million expansion of Summerville Medical Center.

Roper and Trident already were challenging the other's plans to build competing hospitals in Berkeley County. Roper is arguing that the Department of Health and Environmental Control should deny the Summerville expansion until that dispute is resolved. Trident officials say they were puzzled by that reasoning.

Roper said Trident has not demonstrated the need to add 30 beds at the 94-bed medical center. The project would also convert 18 semi-private rooms to private rooms and expand labor and delivery rooms.

Still sluggish

Home sales in the Charleston region last month hit a peak for 2011, but the market is still suffering from too many foreclosed and other distressed properties. The Charleston Trident Association of Realtors said 902 homes sold last month at a median price of $195,955. Transactions were down about 12 percent from June 2010, when buyers could still take advantage of a federal tax credit that has since expired. The median price for the region was up 5 percent from a year ago and 9 percent higher than in May, though the gains may be short-lived. The larger figure was likely fueled by an increase in demand from buyers "who generally purchase in a higher price range," including second-homes buyers or homeowners who are trading up, the association said.

Tax break

The state's 12th annual Sales Tax Holiday weekend is set to begin at 12:01 a.m. Aug. 5, starting off a shopping bonanza on back-to-school supplies, clothes, household items and computers through midnight Aug. 7. Shoppers will get a break from the state's 6 percent sales-and-use tax rate, as well as any local sales taxes, on a long list of items. Consumers save an estimated $3 million during the tax-free weekend, While lawmakers decided to continue the program, they did do away with another tax-free offering: The tax-free holiday for guns was ditched this year.

Land plan

Patriots Point officials said they could have a plan by Christmas to help the maritime museum meet its long-term financial needs. The Patriots Point Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising arm of the waterfront visitor attraction, is working with the Patriots Point board to create a master plan to develop 36 prime acres into a nationally prominent destination. The foundation has enlisted the aid of PGAV Destinations, a St. Louis consulting firm that has worked in the past with Biltmore Estate, Colonial Williamsburg and the Gettysburg Museum.