Construction is moving ahead on MedNorth Health Center’s newest building.

The two-story structure, planned at the corner of North Third and Bladen streets, is set to add approximately 35,000 square feet to the health center’s campus. Work on the building broke ground in December, and construction is expected to wrap up in March 2026.

The additional space is sorely needed, according to MedNorth Health Center CEO Althea Johnson.

Johnson said space constraints of the existing 17,000-square-foot MedNorth clinic, located at 925 N. Fourth St., have hindered operations, limiting the number of patients clinic providers can serve daily. The expanded space will allow the clinic to serve more patients, grow its existing services and add new ones.

“The significance to us is that we'll finally be unburdened by the space restraints,” Johnson said. “We will be able to improve our operations and hopefully improve just the overall quality of the work that we do, as well as patient satisfaction.”

MedNorth, formerly New Hanover Community Health Center Inc., was incorporated as a nonprofit in North Carolina receiving a 501(c)(3) classification in 1993. The center saw its first patient in the spring of 1994 and has been in continuous service since then, adding MedNorth Health Center as a dba (doing business as) in 2013. 

The center has operated out of its current building, which has undergone multiple renovations, for more than 25 years. It offers a range of services, including pediatric, adult and family medicine, family planning, OBGYN services, behavioral health, podiatry and dentistry along with an on-site pharmacy.

Plans for the facility’s roughly $28 million expansion have evolved over the last year, Johnson said. 

Initially, clinic leaders planned to add onto the existing clinic. But after reviewing the plans, Johnson said, they decided to construct the stand-alone building instead. That approach will allow the clinic to continue operating out of its existing facility during the new building's construction. 

“We're using the building every day. Our patients are coming in and out of the building,” Johnson said, “so we wanted to create the most safe environment for the construction people, as well as for us continuing to use the building.”

The new plans will also lead to approximately $1.5 million in cost savings, a shortened overall construction duration and reduced impacts on patients and staff, according to Johnson. The new building will increase the clinic’s medical exam rooms from 28 to 51 and will add 7 new dental operatories, bringing the clinic from 5 to 12, Johnson said.

“We know that this new building, hopefully, will be able to last us the next 30 years without us having to do anything in terms of expansion,” she said.

That will help the clinic meet health care demands among the area’s uninsured and underinsured populations.

“We want to make sure that people seek and get health care when they need it, and don't ignore it and don't put it off because of pricing or lack of insurance,” Johnson said. “We don’t want people to have to wait a long time to get an appointment, which is what we’re working on.”

Once the new building is complete, Johnson said she plans to move the clinic’s staff and operations out of the existing clinic and into the new building to allow for renovations to take place on the existing facility. Although Johnson said she’s started working on concept designs for the renovation, she hasn’t finalized the plans. 

The clinic is also considering the addition of new services like physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, which Johnson said have historically been difficult for MedNorth’s patients to access. 

Johnson said the health center's expansion will give MedNorth a new presence and visibility on the corner of N. Third Street.

“Our new building will add a beautiful new image, as you come into Wilmington,” she said, “and for it to be a continuation of the 30 years of service that we've been providing for the community, I think it's just going to be a good thing.”