CELINA, Texas — Methodist Health System is expanding its reach to northern Collin County. A $200 million hospital is scheduled to arrive in the once-small town of Celina by 2025.
"People 10 years ago were like, 'Man, Celina is all the way in Oklahoma,'" said Celina Mayor Sean Terry.
Terry has been mayor for seven years and has seen the growth happen right before his eyes. In the year 2000, Celina had a population over 1,700 people, and now it is estimated to have over 32,000.
"Progress is a thing you look forward to, whether you like it or not," said long-time resident Ralph O'Dell.
O'Dell, 97, was born in the town of Weston, which is several miles from Celina.
But this week, Celina with all its open spaces, is the small city with a big announcement.
"About two years ago we tasked our EDC, Economic Development Corporation, to go find us a hospital," said Terry.
The Tuesday announcement by Methodist revealed that the hospital will sit on 46 acres off the Dallas North Tollway and FM 428.
"It really attracts the grandparent that wants to be around their grandkid," said Terry.
If you needed to get to a hospital from Celina it was a 14 to 20-minute drive to hospitals in either McKinney or Frisco.
"It will be an asset," said O'Dell.
The hospital will open in 2025. It will hold 30 medical-surgical beds, 10 post-partum beds, 8 ICU beds, and 12 emergency beds. According to a press release from Methodist, it will also have three operating rooms and four labor and delivery rooms.