WellStar Kennestone Hospital has taken a step back from building a Holly Springs facility.

Hospital spokesperson Keith Bowermaster confirmed Monday that the hospital did not file a Certificate of Need with the Georgia Department of Community Health, a required step for a freestanding emergency department.

WellStar filed a letter of intent with DCH on Jan. 11 and would have had to file a CON on Feb. 11 to move forward.

Land for the proposed future emergency center remains under contract, Bowermaster said.

“WellStar continues to work with the city of Holly Springs on the rezoning,” he said.

WellStar representatives appeared before the Holly Springs Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 17 to request a rezoning and conditional use permit for 61 acres in front of the Cherokee County Aquatic Center on Sixes Road. The land is just across Interstate 575 from Northside Hospital’s Holly Springs imaging facility.

The planning commission tabled the request until its Feb. 28 meeting.

Holly Springs Community Development Director Nancy Moon said Tuesday that the hospital is on the agenda for the Feb. 28 planning and zoning meeting.

According to minutes from the Jan. 17 meeting, WellStar representatives pitched a health park on Sixes Road that could include primary care, a limited emergency room, doctors’ offices, a hospital and a home care facility.

Bowermaster said any plans for Holly Springs are still in the conceptual phase.

WellStar also backed off plans to build an emergency center in Acworth and did not file a CON for that site, Bowermaster said.

In December, WellStar filed a letter of intent for an outpatient surgery center in Woodstock but did not file a CON.