Onslow Memorial Hospital celebrated the grand opening of its new medical office building at Burton Park on Thursday, November 5, 2026, unveiling a 37,800-square-foot facility with more than 35 exam and procedure rooms that will start seeing patients next Tuesday, November 10. The new building brings dermatology, general surgery, and ear, nose and throat care under one roof, along with expanded diagnostic offerings including X-rays, ultrasounds, and hearing and balance testing.
According to WCTI, hospital leaders say there's still room to add even more providers down the line as demand grows. The station reported that Onslow County continues to grow, and local healthcare providers are working to keep pace with that expansion. Practice director Rachel Esterly said the facility is large and was something she'd been planning for over at least half of her nearly 20 years with Onslow, adding it's ready to see patients in a week, per the station's report.
A Debt-Free Build Years in the Making
Construction on the Burton Park building began in August 2025, according to WITN, which reported the project cost $10.2 million and was funded entirely through operational cash the hospital had saved over several years, allowing it to complete the project debt-free. WITN also reported the facility sits off Corridor Road outside Jacksonville and is scheduled to open its doors to patients on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Per the same outlet, hospital officials have plans to add more primary care, audiology, and pulmonology providers in the coming years.
Onslow Memorial Hospital President and CEO Penney Burlingame Deal said the new space lets patients receive healthcare in one location without having to travel between different businesses and across the county, according to the seed facts in this report. That consolidation appears aimed directly at the growth pressures the station described, giving residents fewer stops to make for routine specialty care.
Earlier Plans Described a Different Project
The Burton Park site has a longer planning history that doesn't perfectly match the building that just opened. The Daily News reported that Onslow County approved an agreement with Trask Land Company back in 2022 to bring a $14 million, 36,000-square-foot medical facility to Burton Industrial Park, describing it as just the first phase of a proposed mixed-use development that could also host retail and restaurants. A separate WCTI report on the groundbreaking at the time described a 34,000-square-foot building planned for use as a family practice.
Those planning-stage figures don't line up with each other or with the completed building's reported size and cost, and the available reporting doesn't explain how or when the project changed. Citizen Portal reported that a county action on Oct. 6 amended the incentive agreement, reducing the planned medical office building at Burton Park from 50,000 square feet to 36,000 square feet and lowering the estimated combined employment for the medical office and associated restaurants from 100 to 75. None of the available sources reconcile the earlier $14 million estimate with WITN's $10.2 million figure for the finished facility, so both numbers are presented here as reported by their respective outlets.
What's Next for Patients
For now, the focus shifts to next Tuesday's opening, when Onslow Memorial begins seeing patients at the new site for dermatology, general surgery, ENT care, and the expanded imaging and hearing services housed inside. Hospital leaders have signaled this is meant to be a starting point rather than a finished product, with room built in to add providers as the surrounding community continues to grow.
