NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 11, 2025--
Roper St. Francis Healthcare, in partnership with E4H Environments for Health Architecture; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); and Barton Malow | Edifice, has officially broken ground on the future Roper Hospital. The $1.2 billion campus is designed to transform healthcare delivery in the Lowcountry, combining advanced technology, resilience planning, and a patient-centered approach.
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"Leading the architectural team for Roper Hospital has been both a challenge and an honor," said Jeremy Bartz, AIA, NCARB, Sr. Executive Director, at E4H. "We've worked hand-in-hand with hundreds of dedicated healthcare professionals to understand their needs and vision. The result is distinctly Lowcountry—a sophisticated campus that feels connected to this place while delivering world-class care through its innovative layout and thoughtful integration with the community."
“Connectivity and resilience are central to the vision for Roper Hospital’s future campus,” says Anthony Treu, AIA, ACHA, Healthcare Practice Leader at SOM. “As the design architects, we’re transforming a constrained suburban site into a cohesive healthcare destination inspired by the landscapes of the Lowcountry. The result is a future-ready, resilient campus that enhances access and fosters a supportive, patient-focused environment—setting a new standard for the next century of care.”
The future campus will be the fourth location for Roper Hospital since it opened in downtown Charleston in 1856.
“We’re not just erecting walls and hallways,” said Roper St. Francis Healthcare President and CEO Joseph DeLeon. “We’re building the next chapter of a nearly 2-century-old story where each brick represents a patient, loved one, teammate or community member who has been or will be touched by our mission of healing all people with compassion, faith and excellence.”
“It’s inspiring to see Roper St. Francis Healthcare not only investing in the area’s growth but also continuing their nearly 200-year legacy of exceptional patient care,” said Dan Buchta of the Barton Malow | Edifice team. “We’re proud to collaborate on this 805,000-square-foot facility, which reflects Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s enduring commitment to the Charleston community and the health and well-being of its residents.”
Upon full buildout, the 805,000-square-foot hospital building will include inpatient beds, an emergency department, critical care beds, operating rooms, a comprehensive imaging department, and a hemodialysis unit. The layout integrates procedure rooms from different disciplines on the same floor, allowing for efficient interdepartmental care in cardiac, neurology, and endoscopy services.
Barton Malow | Edifice is leading construction using a target value delivery method, allowing the team to adjust design components while maintaining budgetary integrity. Despite challenges related to seismic conditions, FAA height restrictions, and a high-water table, the project remains on track for a 2029 completion.
For more information about the future Roper Hospital and the broader systemwide master plan, visit www.rsfh.com.
About the Project Team
The new Roper Hospital campus is being delivered by a nationally recognized team of design and construction leaders. Architecture is led by E4H Environments for Health Architecture, a MOREgroup brand and the nation’s largest firm solely focused on healthcare and health science. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the design architect, is a global collective of architects, engineers, and planners, bringing expertise in resilient, human-centered healthcare environments. Construction is led by Barton Malow, a North American builder with specialties across healthcare and education, and Edifice Construction, a Carolinas-based ENR Top 400 General Contractor. Together, the team is delivering a resilient and future-ready campus designed for the Lowcountry.
About Roper St. Francis Healthcare
As a not-for-profit healthcare system, Roper St. Francis Healthcare chooses purpose over profits by putting extra money back into the system to help meet the health needs of the Charleston community. The healthcare system features four flagship hospitals: Roper Hospital, Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital, Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital and Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital. In an emergency, the healthcare system offers six strategically placed emergency departments. With nearly 7,000 teammates, Roper St. Francis Healthcare is the Lowcountry’s largest private employer with more than 1,000 doctors representing almost every medical specialty, and it has earned status as a Great Place to Work. The system has nearly 700 beds and more than 120 facilities and services across four counties. Learn more at rsfh.com.
Roper Hospital Tower Rendering © SOM | Miysis
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
