CANTON – The parent corporation of Canton-Potsdam and Gouverneur hospitals today purchased 270 acres on U.S. Hwy. 11, the first step toward developing a centralized location for specialized medical services.

St. Lawrence Health System (SLHS) purchased property known as the McCollum Farm, which lies primarily on the north side of Route 11 near the Village of Canton.

The land will be used for “the creation of needed medical facilities to accommodate the health system’s rapidly expanding medical staff,” hospital officials said in a prepared statement.

“The opportunity to acquire this property presented itself at a time when growth both at the Canton-Potsdam Hospital campus in Potsdam, as well as the medical office complex in Canton, is stretching the physical limits of those facilities,” said David B. Acker, CEO of St. Lawrence Health System.

“Providing certain services more centrally in Canton also provides improved access to specialty care for our patients in the Gouverneur area,” he said.

The new property is centrally located, easily accessible and gives SLHS space to expand existing services and potentially bring new physician specialists to area residents, hospital officials said.

Since 2008, Canton-Potsdam Hospital has seen its medical staff grow from 55 to 115 full-time providers. Since beginning in January of 2013, Canton-Potsdam Hospital has added 20 new full-time physicians and 15 new full-time mid-level providers.

“The need for additional medical offices and outpatient procedure space to accommodate these new physicians, as well as those which will be added over the next several years, drove this decision,” said Acker.

Acker said SLHS is committed to keeping the property on the tax rolls so that the local municipalities and school system will not see a reduction in revenue as a result of the sale.

SLHS was established in December of 2013 for the purpose of serving as a catalyst for the improved coordination and quality of health care services in St. Lawrence County.