Novant Health and New Hanover Regional Medical Center officials are a step closer to building a hospital in northern New Hanover County that would also help serve residents in Pender County.

The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to rezone about 41 acres in the Scotts Hill section of the county to an office and institutional designation (O&I) that will allow the hospital to be built.

The new, $210 million acute care facility will be on a site that includes the existing NHRMC Emergency Department-North, a free-standing emergency department and surgical center at 151 Scotts Hill Medical Drive.

Hospital officials announced in April that the system had been granted a certificate of need (CON) by the state to build the Scotts Hill hospital.

The project still has additional steps to take. According to the county staff report on the rezoning, "Before any development can occur on this site, the Technical Review Committee will review all plans for compliance with applicable land use regulations, including any recommended roadway improvements from traffic impact analyses to ensure adequate traffic safety and distribution."

The CON called for 66 beds in the new hospital, but more could be on the way.

"The hospital is being built for the future, with the capacity to add beds to meet the growing needs of the community," a Novant Health spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. "Our next steps are to begin designing and building out the blueprints for the 66-bed facility."

Construction is expected to begin in 2022, with an opening around 2024, according to the April announcement.