WellStar Kennestone Hospital has decided not to pursue building a surgery center in Woodstock at this time.

The hospital filed a letter of intent with the Georgia Department of Community Health on Oct. 25 seeking to open a $23 million outpatient surgery center in Woodstock.

WellStar spokesman Keith Bowermaster said Tuesday the hospital group has elected not to file a certificate of need at this time.

Hospitals must file a letter of intent exactly 30 days before filing a certificate of need, so WellStar’s due date to file a certificate was Monday.

According to DCH documents, the center was proposed for 145 North Medical Parkway, an area off Towne Lake that is already home to several medical facilities.

“We will continue to evaluate the market and decide whether to re-file a letter of intent in the future,” Bowermaster said.

In October Northside Hospital-Cherokee broke ground on a new 100,817-square-foot, four-story medical office building on Towne Lake Parkway.

In May, WellStar Health System dropped its objection to Northside Hospital’s plans to replace its Canton hospital with a new facility at Interstate 575 and Highway 20.

The DCH upheld in May Northside’s plans to relocate the replacement hospital from its location on Hospital Road to a 100-acre tract behind Canton Marketplace.

The department upheld a ruling by a hearing officer in February that Northside did not need a certificate of need to move forward with those plans, striking down WellStar’s contention that it did.