NORTH CHARLESTON — Almost two decades after the Charleston Naval Base closed its gates, North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey announced plans Friday to transform the base’s old 10-story hospital into a facility for senior living, senior care and a hospice.

It’s part of a larger redevelopment of 40 acres in North Charleston, including 22 acres at the old base that closed in the mid-1990s.

Summey said the city plans to sell the land to Chicora Gardens Holdings, the developer, for $9.2 million. The city bought the old hospital for $2 million earlier this year at a General Services Administration auction. It had also spent $4.2 million buying an old shopping center adjacent to the base property and demolishing it for redevelopment.

At one time, the 368,000-square-foot hospital served thousands of active duty and retired military along the South Carolina coast and beyond.

But since the base closed, the area has become depressed. The nearest full-service grocery store is about four miles away. The city has long worked to bring in a new store and one is now planned as part of the project.

Summey said the project – which also includes planned space for parks – would allow seniors to transition from assisted living all the way to end-of-life hospice care.