Blake Medical Center starts exterior renovation

Blake Medical Center in Bradenton has begun a 30-month exterior renovation to the 383-bed hospital.

The project will include replacing the center's existing windows with hurricane-rated windows, removing the exterior air-conditioning units and upgrading the facility's appearance.

Work has already started on the first phase of the construction, focused on the front of the hospital.

The hospital has temporarily relocated its entrance to the Medical Arts Building just north of the main hospital building. That phase is expected to last five months.

“Our hospital is over 35 years old, so we needed to do some maintenance to the building, but the project also allows us to update the appearance of our facility to be more congruent with the advanced care we provide,” hospital President and CEO Daniel Friedrich says in a press release.

The project is expected to create at least 90 local construction jobs.