Novant Health secures approval for $324M hospital in the Charlotte region
Novant Health received approval from the state to build its first hospital in eastern Lincoln County, a project estimated to cost $324 million.
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The 24-bed facility will serve the Denver area of the county and is scheduled to open in 2031, according to Novant’s recent announcement. Novant Health Lincoln Medical Center will be located at the intersection of N.C. Highway 73 and North Ingleside Farm Road. Denver is about a 40-minute drive from uptown Charlotte.
Novant operates primary care and outpatient medical clinics in Lincoln County, but it did not own or operate any licensed acute care facilities in the area.
The new facility will give residents access to emergency care and ongoing treatment closer to home, according to Chris Bowe, senior vice president and president for Charlotte’s region.
Services at the center will include a 24-hour emergency department, a range of inpatient and outpatient care, and a dedicated C-section operating room.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services granted approval after Novant submitted its proposal through the Certificate of Need application process in February. According to the 2026 State Medical Facilities Plan, there is a clear need for 24 additional hospital beds in Lincoln County in the coming years.
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Under North Carolina law, healthcare providers must receive state approval before building or expanding facilities to prevent the unnecessary duplication of services. When multiple systems apply to provide the same services, state officials review the proposals and select the project that best meets regional needs.
Atrium Health, the largest hospital provider in the Charlotte region, submitted a competing $36.4 million CON proposal. Atrium proposed adding 24 beds to its existing 97-bed facility in Lincolnton, which would have increased its total capacity to 121 beds.
While state regulators determined both systems met basic requirements, Novant’s project was selected as the more effective option for delivering new inpatient care directly to Denver and eastern Lincoln County. State officials also noted that introducing a new healthcare provider would break up Atrium’s current 100% market share in the county, according to state findings.
Atrium is part of Charlotte-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the country. Advocate serves 6 million patients across 69 hospitals and more than 1,000 care locations. It also recently partnered with Wake Forest University to launch Charlotte’s first four-year medical school, which serves as a centerpiece for The Pearl innovation district.
Novant, headquartered in Winston-Salem, is the second-largest hospital provider in the Charlotte area. It serves more than 7 million patients and operates over 900 locations, including 21 hospitals and 800 physician clinics across the Southeast.
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