Barely into 2010, the headline seemed to stand out on the page of Saturday‘s newspaper if the reader knew of its past and its potential. “Hospital groundbreaking Jan. 19,” it said.

The story behind that headline has a long history with many a disappointing turn before it finally headed toward fruition, but what lies ahead is the story of a tipping point for St. Clair County and the region.

The pieces are falling into place for quality growth in the area with Jefferson State Community College already on site and expanding. The college’s icademy is about to open its doors to high school students, serving as a boon to education and the business community.

Following the Jan. 19 groundbreaking, construction will begin on the new St. Vincents-St. Clair Hospital. Construction also will begin on a new state Veterans Administration nursing home at the site overlooking Interstate 20.

And when they are done, what a sight to behold it will be — an impressive image for the city, the county and the area of modern facilities dotting the landscape, offering an array of opportunities.

The components are there for the makings of a success story that will be told and retold in coming years. The investment of tens of millions of dollars in these projects bode well for the immediate future while setting the scene for positive growth in the years ahead from the services they represent.

When officials turn those shovels of dirt on Jan. 19, it won’t be simply a ceremony commemorating the construction of a new hospital building. It will mark the beginning of a new era.

How appropriate it falls at the beginning of a new year and a new decade. Officials have every reason to see it as a new beginning for the region, and we couldn’t agree more with that assessment.

With the hospital rising from what is now only woods, it becomes the symbol of a strong future for the hospital and all that lie around it.

It truly is a new beginning.