What’s next for Port Royal’s 127-acre Naval Hospital? Task Force wants to help plan future

Local officials want to have a say in future uses of the 72-year-old Naval Hospital in Port Royal if the Navy switches its medical mission to new facilities now in the works at other locations, which looks likely.

Led by the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce and local governments, a task force has been formed to study potential new uses for the 127-acre hospital property. The chamber also has hired a defense expert to assist in that effort.

In April, the Navy announced it was beginning a study into building a $150 million state-of-the art medical clinic at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

That sparked local business and government leaders to convene the task force and hire the consultant to study future uses of the Naval Hospital, which one expert said is already underutilized.

Other moves by the military also prompted local officials to get involved, said Zakary Payne, an associate vice president with Matrix Design Group, the consultant hired by the chamber.

One is a second new clinic that is being considered at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, also located in Port Royal, Payne said.

And the Veterans Affairs Administration, Payne added, is shopping for land in northern Beaufort County where it may build a new clinic to serve Beaufort County veterans.

Currently, the Naval Hospital, which opened in 1949, provides general medical, surgical and emergency services to Marines at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, in addition to their dependents and retired military personnel, a total of about 35,000 people.

Local officials want seat at the table

The Navy’s medical mission in Beaufort County is not changing, emphasized Ian Scott, president and CEO of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, but “where they do it, where they execute that mission, is potentially changing.”

The Navy has not said specifically that it plans to close the Naval Hospital.

With investment in new facilities, Scott said, “There are reasons for us to begin the planning right now to make sure we not only have a seat at the table, but can help steer the course in the future.”

If it’s concluded that the property is underutilized and deemed “excess,” Scott said, the General Services Administration has a specific process in transferring the property. Another federal agency would have the first crack at the property, he said, followed by local governments. It’s possible no transfer would be required if another military use is found for the property.

New facilities could mean the bulk of activity at the Naval Hospital will be handled elsewhere in the region over the coming decade, Scott said. What’s less clear is what will happen at the hospital in the future, which is what the task force will address.

The task force — five voting members representing Port Royal, Beaufort, Beaufort County, the Chamber and the Chamber’s Military Enhancement Committee — will hold its first meeting later this month.

Members plan to provide recommendations on possible uses for the property to the Navy.

“We are facilitating a process for the community to identify the highest best potential use for the Naval hospital that supports military missions in the region,” Scott said. “That’s the whole goal here.”

Local officials are trying to be proactive about what happens next at the prime property abutting busy Ribaut Road and the Beaufort River, Scott said.

“We’ve got all stakeholders all rowing in the same direction on this,” said Neal Pugliese, chairman of the chamber’s Military Enhancement Committee, noting local and state governments and the state’s congressional delegation are all on board.

The Navy is in the beginning stages of identifying what to do with the Naval Hospital grounds, Pugliese said.

The Navy has been receptive to receiving local input, Pugliese said. A Navy spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

Scott and Pugliese said potential “adaptive reuses” could be related to health care, education or cyber defense. If they provide employment opportunities for the spouses of military personnel, and support existing military missions, they said, they would likely be well-received.

Similar reviews happening elsewhere

What appears to be happening locally with military medical facilities jibes with what is occurring nationally, said Payne, the consultant.

A few years ago, the Defense Department pivoted from providing health care to focus more on military readiness, said Payne. Part of the shift involves providing outpatient care at ambulatory surgical centers that are more accessible to military members while relying on non-military health care facilities for specialized and long-term care.

Scott views the investment in new medical facilities as a positive development. And influencing a new use at the Naval Hospital, he said, is an undertaking that would affect future generations.

“It’s so critical for the economy of this region to ensure long-term success of all military missions,” Scott said.

A 2022 study by the South Carolina Military Base Task Force says the military presence in Beaufort County accounts for about $2.2 billion in annual economic impact and 19,240 jobs. The economic impact of the hospital alone, it says, is $222 million annually.

The Naval Hospital, one of a few military facilities recognized as a complete military compound rather than a tenant of a larger command, includes housing, a Navy exchange retail store, gas station and a mini mart, softball fields, swimming pool, lighted tennis and basketball courts, outdoor fitness course, a gym, fishing pier and a children’s playground.

In 2009, a $261 million proposal to rebuild the hospital was bumped off a list of military projects slated to receive federal stimulus dollars.

The Town of Port Royal has been anticipating the hospital closing for years. In the past, local officials have said they would like to see more access to the compound, which includes waterfront and Fort Frederick, a British fort built in 1735 to protect the area.

No Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process is in place for the hospital. A BRAC, Scott noted, has not been authorized since 2005.