Leland Town Council approves rezoning for $251.3M Novant Health hospital in Terrapin Landing development. The 142,460 SF facility with 20 beds and emergency department will serve northwest Leland’s rapidly growing population, projected to reach 50,000 by 2030 when hospital opens. Certificate of need pending.
Leland Town Council has approved rezoning and master plan amendments clearing the path for Novant Health Leland Medical Center within the 955-acre Terrapin Landing mixed-use development in northwest Leland, one of North Carolina’s fastest-growing municipalities. The December 18 unanimous vote rezoned approximately 37 acres from multi-family and commercial designations to office and institutional classifications to accommodate the healthcare facility.
Novant Health filed a certificate of need application in October 2025 for the 142,460 SF hospital carrying a total project cost of $251.3 million. The state-mandated permit, currently under North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services review with a decision expected in early 2026, validates community necessity for the medical facility. Planned features include 20 licensed care beds with four ICU beds, a 24-hour emergency department offering 10 observation beds, and five procedure rooms, four built to full operating room specifications.
The revised Terrapin Landing master plan eliminated 26 acres of commercial space and 387 multi-family units while maintaining the overall 3,398 residential unit count through increased single-family home allocations redistributed across the development. Attorney Sam Franck, representing applicant Malmo Ventures, emphasized northwest Leland remains medically underserved despite central area facilities near U.S. Highway 17, with the new hospital positioned along U.S. Highway 74 and Malmo Loop Road.
Plan modifications incorporated a 5-acre parcel previously under split town-county jurisdiction, which Malmo Ventures voluntarily annexed under Leland authority to unify zoning governance, utility connections, and development protocols across the hospital site and broader Terrapin project.
Leland’s population has surged 44 percent since 2020, expanding from 23,000 to over 33,000 residents, with projections reaching 50,000 by 2030 when the hospital is scheduled to open. The facility will serve thousands of residents in neighboring developments including 2,200-acre Compass Pointe and 2,100-acre East Lake, populations currently requiring 15 to 20 minute drives covering 12 to 26 miles to reach existing hospitals in Wilmington, Bolivia, or Southport.