City approves zoning for new hospital

SARASOTA — The Venice City Council has approved a zoning amendment that allows Sarasota Memorial Health Care System to go forward on development plans for its new Venice hospital.

The 65-acre site at the intersection of Laurel and Pinebrook roads near Interstate 75 had been zoned for a shopping center, according to a press release. The City Council unanimously approved SMH’s request to allow a hospital and related health care facilities to be built on the site. 

The health system broke ground on the hospital campus in April and obtained permits to begin land clearing and deep foundation work, the release adds. 

Construction is expected to take two and a half years with a total project cost of $437 million. The initial development covers 48 acres on the eastern side of the parcel. It will include a five-story, 365,000-square-foot hospital with 110 private rooms and a 28-bed emergency center. 

The building design is expandable to support an increase in patient suites from 110 to 270 beds, a 50-bed emergency center and expanded surgical suites and treatment areas. 

More than 500 employees are expected to work at the facility when it opens.

“This is a pivotal day for our health system and the community,” says SMH-Venice President Sharon Roush in a statement. “We are excited about the new hospital and the exceptional care it will bring to the residents of Venice and south county.”

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is a regional referral center with a flagship 839-bed, acute-care hospital.