$1.7B in construction projects: Tracking hospital boom across the region

With more than 1,000 people moving to Florida every day, pressure is on the health care system to keep up with the demand for services. The steady growth in population is driving health care organizations across the region to expand and in some cases, build new hospitals. 

From Wesley Chapel to Fort Myers, cranes are dotting the skyline as construction gets underway to provide more space for patient care. In analyzing seven of those projects, the total value exceeds $1.7 billion.

The boom in hospital construction comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis repealed the certificate of need program in 2019. Under that initiative, health care entities had to undertake a lengthy application process to gain state approval to build a new hospital. The repeal resulted in a flurry of activity in the years that followed, with major entities like Clearwater-based BayCare, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and Orlando Health announcing plans to build anew.

One key figure that proves the boom: health care entities announced plans to build 65 hospitals across the state between 2020 and 2022 — up 225% from 20 hospitals approved from 2016 to 2018, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

A glance at some of the current projects in the region include: 

Sarasota Memorial Hospital-North Port

Parent company: Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Cost: $450 million
Total beds: 100
Features: The 305,000-square-foot hospital will provide emergency, medical, surgical and specialty care as well as diagnostic and outpatient services. Marking the first hospital in North Port, the building will contain six floors, with infrastructure in place to allow for the addition of three more floors if the need for future expansion arises, enabling the hospital to add 208 more patient beds. Currently, the health care system is working to recruit 70 physicians to staff the hospital. Construction is expected to take 30 months.
Location: North Sumter Boulevard near Interstate 75, North Port
Expected opening date: Fall 2028; groundbreaking is planned for later in 2025.

Expansion at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center

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Parent company: Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
Cost: $120 million
Total beds: 60 in phase one, 60 in phase two
Features: The new five-story patient bed tower will add 30 beds for intensive care patients and 30 beds for progressive care patients in the first phase of development, expected to be complete later this year. A second phase of expansion will add another 60 beds for a total of 120 beds. Since Lakewood Ranch Medical Center currently has 120 beds, the expansion when complete will double its capacity. Officials say the expansion will enable key ancillary departments such as laboratory, pharmacy, pre-admission testing and food and nutrition services to grow; it will help with emergency room inpatient flow; and it will accommodate the growing need for inpatient medical/surgical, complex cardiology and higher-acuity neurological services. Staffing the five-story patient bed tower will also add 100 jobs.
Builder: Brasfield & Gorrie
Location: 8330 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Lakewood Ranch
Expected opening date: Phase one is expected to be complete in December 2025.

BayCare Hospital Manatee

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Parent company: BayCare Health System
Cost: $548 million
Total beds: 154
Features: The comprehensive acute-care facility will be the first nonprofit hospital in Manatee County and the only hospital in the county north of the Manatee River. While it will open with 154 beds, the building will be designed to expand to 207 beds as needed, with additional capacity possible as the community grows. Services will include emergency care; general, orthopedic and specialty surgery; urology; gastroenterology; cardiology; diagnostic and interventional imaging; obstetrics; and neonatology.
Builder: Robins & Morton
Location: 6730 Moccasin Wallow Road, Palmetto
Expected opening date: 2027

Expansion at St. Joseph’s Hospital-South

Parent company: BayCare Health System
Cost: $32.8 million
Total beds: 33
Features: Consists of a 36,000-square-foot addition that started in early 2024. It will expand the hospital’s pre-op and post-anesthesia care unit areas as well as add an observation unit. The pre-op and post-anesthesia care unit will grow from 17 beds to 30, will develop additional capacity and streamline care in the procedural areas. The new 20-bed observation unit will provide specialized care for short-stay patients who need 24-to-48-hour monitoring from medical professionals.
Builder: Creative Contractors
Location: 6901 Simmons Loop, Riverview
Expected opening date: First quarter of 2025

Lee Health Fort Myers

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Parent company: Lee Health
Cost: $481 million
Total beds: 168
Features: Lee Health Fort Myers will be a new acute-care hospital spanning more than 416,000 square feet. It will include a 44-bed emergency department, 24 ICU beds and 10 inpatient operating rooms. Modern patient rooms will be equipped with "smart" technology, and the hospital's departments will utilize state-of-the-art equipment. The brand-new campus will also be home to the Lee Health Musculoskeletal Institute, offering orthopedic and musculoskeletal health care in a 125,000-square-foot medical office building that also contains eight operating rooms.
Builder: Skanska
Location: Colonial and Challenger boulevards, Fort Myers
Expected opening date: 2028

Expansion of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel

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Parent company: AdventHealth
Cost: $79.4 million
Total beds: 72
Features: A new three-story north wing and two-story south courtyard infill will add 80,373 square feet of new space, while 8,837 square feet of existing space will be renovated. The expansion will increase the hospital’s licensed beds from 169 to 193, with room for two more 24-bed units in the future, according to AdventHealth. The new space will also include two operating rooms, two endoscopy suites, one hybrid operating room and 20 pre-op and post-op beds.
Builder: Batson-Cook Construction
Location: 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Wesley Chapel
Expected opening date: The new additions are expected to open in late 2025.

Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch Hospital

Parent company: Orlando Health
Cost: N/A Orlando Health does not disclose the costs of its projects, a spokesperson says.
Total beds: 102
Features: While it will open with 102 beds, the hospital will be able to accommodate up to 300 at full buildout. The hospital is being built on 47 acres.
Builder: Turner Construction
Location: State Road 56 and Wiregrass Ranch Boulevard, Wesley Chapel
Expected opening date: Spring 2026