FORT MILL TOWNSHIP -- A proposal to build a comprehensive hospital in Fort Mill is coming to fruition as the two principal partners work over details for the project, slated for a 40-acre parcel in Kingsley Park.

Clear Springs Development, the builders of Baxter Village, and Tenet Healthcare Corp., the owners of Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, have been negotiating a deal both sides hope leads to a $107 million, 64-bed facility. The actual site is at the corner of Hwy. 160 and Hwy. 21, across from the Springs Farms Peach Stand.

Clear Springs Chairman and CEO Don Killoren said he hopes the two parties can come to an agreement on buying the land before the end of this year.

"It is going to be an economic engine to facilitate growth in the area," Killoren said. "It is going to be very good."

A hospital could spur growth for other medical businesses, such as pharmacies, he said.

Hwy. 160 is already home to several medical facilities, including Fort Mill Family Practice, located in the Fort Mill Professional Park, along with other medical specialty centers. Baxter Village has the Piedmont Urgent Care Center, part of the Piedmont Medical family that opened in 2002.

Tenet made a commitment to Clear Springs to develop land near the urgent care center into a medical park, but Killoren said previously that issue is likely to be resolved in negotiations to build a hospital.

"A hospital adds to the quality of life an area has," said Mark Farris, director of the York County Economic Development Board. "There is definitely a growing urban area in the county."

The tentatively named Fort Mill Medical Center will have 24-hour emergency service.

The project still needs to be approved by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Charles Miller, Piedmont's CEO, said he plans to submit the application next week. Approval could come as early as next summer.

Miller and Piedmont had looked at putting the facility in Baxter Village, Killoren said, but the area doesn't afford a large enough tract. Miller said because of the steady rate of growth occurring in Fort Mill, it was a logical step to put the new facility in the area. If Tenet's application is approved by the DHEC, the 228,800-square-feet facility could be operation in about four years.

The hospital would bring 250 new jobs to the Fort Mill area, Miller said. The facility would have an orthopedic section, pediatric section, cardiac care section, surgery and maternity section, Miller said.

"I think it is a win-win for everybody," he said.

If the proposed hospital is approved, Miller said the land would have to be rezoned prior to construction. Part of the land is zoned agricultural, while another part is zoned as business. The rezoning would have to go through the York County Council, which doesn't appear likely to stand in the way.

"I think it is an enhancement to the community," said Council Chairman Mike Short. "It would cut out the need [for ailing Fort Mill residents] to go to Rock Hill or Charlotte. I would welcome it."

The land considered for the hospital is just outside of the Fort Mill Town limits. The eastern side of Hwy. 160, where Winn-Dixie and Springs Farms Peach Stand, and part of Kingsley Park is located, is in town limits. The western side of Hwy. 160, where the hospital is being considered, is made up of peach fields and is outside the town. Town Manager David Hudspeth said the hospital is good news for the area, and the town would consider annexing the land to place it within town limits, if asked. Killoren said any decision to be annexed into the town would be up to Tenet, but he believes it would be considered.