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BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) - A major project to bring more healthcare jobs and another medical option to the rapidly growing town of Bluffton cleared a key hurdle.

Novant Health is one step closer to building its own hospital along Buckwalter Parkway.

Following its final development plan meeting with the Town of Bluffton, the proposed facility is nearing its groundbreaking phase.

The multi-million-dollar medical facility will join other recent additions to Bluffton’s medical corridor, including a recently opened Novant Health Emergency Room building and a Beaufort Memorial medical facility currently under construction.

Meeting the demands of a growing community

Bluffton’s population growth is driving the demand for expanded local healthcare infrastructure.

According to Town of Bluffton Director of Growth Management Kevin Icard, residential space in the town is nearly built out.

“We’re at about 80% developed residential uses in the town,” Icard said.

Town planners specifically designed the Buckwalter Parkway corridor to accommodate higher-density development, focusing heavily on medical services.

“We’ve specifically designed that from a land use standpoint to facilitate those uses and accommodate it,” Icard added.

Inside the plans for the new facility

The planned Novant Health Bluffton Medical Center will be located near the intersection of Lake Point Drive and Buckwalter Parkway on a currently wooded plot of land.

Once cleared, the site will be transformed into an over 130,000-square-foot, $320 million full-service medical facility. Key details of the project include:

During the final development plan meeting, the project addressed minor technical adjustments.

“These were just some small formalities addressing a couple of things,” President of Novant Health Coastal Carolina Medical Center Matthew Conrad said.

Other than some stormwater fixes to the plan and fine-tuning a couple of other details, the project is nearly ready to start clearing the plot of land.

“We’ll get that turned back in, and we should hopefully have our permits here soon to be able to get moving,” Conrad said.

Commitment to close-to-home care

For hospital leadership, the investment is about ensuring residents do not have to travel long distances for critical healthcare.

“Having to leave these communities and cross bridges and go to other towns for a level of care is frankly unacceptable,” Conrad said. “So, this is our commitment to this community to be able to invest in it, so people can get care close to home and where you live.”

Conrad emphasized that the facility is designed for both immediate needs and long-term regional development.

“There is a significant need in this community today, and there will be significantly more need in the next 5, 10, 15 years in this region,” Conrad said. “It’s an investment for now and the future.”

Expanding footprint, employee support

Novant Health already has an established footprint in the Lowcountry, owning and operating Hilton Head Medical Center and Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville.

To support its expanding workforce in the region, Novant Health is currently working on a workforce housing project on Hilton Head Island to assist current and future employees.

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) — First responders in Bluffton had an active start to Tuesday, battling two separate early morning structure fires that destroyed one residential home but caused no injuries.

Emergency officials say both incidents highlight the vital role that working fire safety systems play in saving lives and property.

Smoke alarm saves resident from devastating Vine Street fire

The first emergency call came in just after 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, August 18 for a house fire on Vine Street.

Officials confirmed that a working smoke alarm successfully alerted the lone occupant inside, allowing them to escape the burning house unharmed before fire crews arrived.

“This fire is a powerful reminder of why working smoke alarms matter,” said Bluffton Township Fire Chief David Hindman. “The early warning they provided gave this resident the time needed to get out safely.”

Nine emergency units—including multiple engines, a heavy rescue team, and a ladder company—responded to the scene. Firefighters spent several hours getting the flames under control, but the home was unfortunately declared a total loss. Investigators are still working to determine what started the fire.

Kitchen fire at Bluestone Apartments suppressed by sprinkler system

Just before 7:30 a.m., crews were dispatched to a water flow alarm at the Bluestone Apartments off Bluffton Parkway.

Firefighters arrived to find a kitchen fire in a first-floor unit, but the apartment building’s sprinkler system had already triggered and fully put out the flames. Because of the quick automatic suppression, the fire was contained to the single kitchen and did not spread to any neighboring units.

The incident is believed to have been a cooking fire, though the official cause remains under investigation.

Red Cross steps in to help

The American Red Cross is currently assisting the residents displaced by both fires. BTFD continues to encourage all residents to test their household smoke alarms monthly and replace the batteries once a year.

Bluffton’s first all-ages independent bookshop is opening right in the heart of Old Town Bluffton.

The Bluffton Bookshop will hold a grand opening this Saturday. The bookshop opened its doors for a soft opening last Thursday after months of renovations and planning, according to a Facebook post from the bookshop. It’s the only bookshop in downtown Bluffton, after children’s bookshop the Storybook Shoppe relocated to the Tanger Outlets in 2024.

Here’s what you can find at the Bluffton Bookshop:

What’s in the shop?

Bluffton Bookshop is Bluffton’s only general interest bookshop, offering books for all ages. Its owner, Allyn Oliver, dreamed of , and found an opportunity in Bluffton, according to previous Island Packet reporting.

“I’ve always been a huge reader,” Oliver said at the time. “Owning a bookstore is just one of those pipe dreams.”

It’s located at 89 Bridge St. around the corner from Oyster Factory Park. It’s housed inside a renovated, 80-year-old Bluffton home. Renovators discovered a signed block from the home’s builder, Emmet McCracken, and incorporated it into a miniature room visitors can find inside.

Visitors can browse sections for books of various genres, and the shelves are colored-coded. For example, fiction books are on the , according to a Facebook post from Bluffton Bookshop. It also offers cookbooks, non-fiction, travel, and more. A separate children’s book nook can be found through a doorway.

Oliver wants the bookshop to fit in with the character and community of Bluffton, hence the name. She envisions a place where people can take their time, find potential reads and enjoy a coffee or tea. Videos of the bookshop show to sit down and get acquainted with a book, and a self-serve coffee and tea machine.

The shop plans to host events including author talks, mahjong games and book signings, and two pop-up shops are planned for the summer. Bluffton Bookshop’s summer events are listed in a Facebook post.

And there’s ice cream

Attached to the bookshop is the Frozen Fiddler, an icery serving ice cream, shaved ice and other treats. Iceries are a relatively new business category created in Bluffton in 2017.

Customers can order through a window on the side of the bookshop. The menu includes ice cream from Savannah-based Leopold’s Ice Cream.

Grand reveal

The bookshop will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the grand opening Saturday. During the ceremonies, it will reveal a mural by local artist Amiri Farris, according to a Facebook post from local magazine . The mural faces Wharf Street, and was funded partly through a Town of Bluffton grant.

You can follow Bluffton Bookshop , or sign up for its newsletter .

has selected a Bluffton site for its newest operation making and selling helicopter parts, the Beaufort County Economic Development Corp. (BCEDC) said Tuesday.

Sterling Helicopter is a helicopter repair, maintenance, and manufacturing facility based in Croydon, Pennsylvania. It provides overhaul services, avionics installations and engineering for manufacturers like Airbus, Bell, Sikorsky, and Leonardo.

The company is expanding its helicopter servicing capabilities and its new location at Buckwalter Commerce Park, 65 Innovation Drive, is part of the expansion. It’s the company’s fourth location and the first in South Carolina.

Sterling Helicopter and Bluffton’s targeted industry sectors

The BCEDC says the company will lease and modify about 3,000 square feet of commercial space in the Buckwalter Commerce Park to accommodate aerospace engineering, certification, inspection and administrative functions.

In a report on the project in May, the Town of Bluffton said in the capital investment in the project over five years would be $367,000.

“Staff notes that this project aligns strongly with one of the Town’s targeted industry sectors—aerospace and aviation services — which has been consistently identified as a priority for diversification of Bluffton’s economic base,” the report says. “The introduction of a specialized aerospace operation represents a unique opportunity to attract high-skill, high-wage employment and position the Town within an emerging and underrepresented industry sector. “

Sterling will employ 15 people over the next five years. Projected wages for the positions are approximately $35.13 per hour, the report says.

What will be at the SC facility?

The facility will support two primary divisions of the company’s operations. One is Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Parts Manufacturer Approval. This means Sterling will manufacture and sell replacement parts for certain types of aircraft.

The second division is FAA Organization Designation Authorization (FAA-ODA), which the FAA is reviewing. This program grants qualified companies the authority to perform specific certification, inspection and approval functions on behalf of the FAA. It essentially allows aviation organizations to “self-certify” their own engineering designs, manufacturing processes, and maintenance work under strict FAA oversight, according to the FAA.

The proposed FAA-ODA designation would be the first of its kind in South Carolina and elevate Bluffton’s role in the aerospace sector, the town’s report on the project said.

The new location represents Sterling Helicopter’s continued growth as it establishes operations in the Lowcountry, Sterling said in a news release. The project will strengthen Beaufort County’s aerospace sector, the BCEDC said.

The BCEDC gave Sterling a $7,500 grant. The Town of Bluffton gave Sterling $14,500 to cover business license and water and sewer fees.

Individuals interested in employment opportunities with Sterling Helicopter are encouraged to contact Amanda.Allen@SterlingHelicopter.com.

This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 2:28 PM.