St. Pete hospital celebrates opening of $152M patient tower

BayCare St. Anthony’s Hospital officially opened its new $152 million patient tower on Friday.

The 143,000-square-foot project, spearheaded by construction firm Robins & Morton, kicked off in 2020 and boosts the number of patient beds at the St. Petersburg hospital to 448, according to a news release. In addition to space for more patients, the tower’s features include a new loading dock, classrooms, electrical plant, three surgical suites, an inpatient dialysis facility, a cafeteria and a kitchen.

"The patient tower will enable us to meet the growing health care needs of the community we serve for many years to come," St. Anthony's President Scott Smith states in the release. "Through this project, we also have improved access to care and enhanced the patient experience by adding more private rooms."

As part of the new tower construction, the hospital’s main entrance was returned to its original location on Seventh Avenue North in St. Pete. It now has a covered drop-off area.

Despite breaking ground right as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the United States, the project stayed on schedule, the release states.

"We are grateful to the construction team that followed the safety protocols established by BayCare and St. Anthony's," Smith states in the release. "By keeping the project on schedule, we continue our commitment to provide expanded services to our growing community."