Addressing Mental Health

    SPOTLIGHT

    Tampa General Hospital, in affiliation with the University of South Florida, is one of four partnerships to receive the state’s newly created “behavioral health teaching hospital” designation and the only one on Florida’s west coast. The teams — all comprised of licensed teaching hospitals pairing with state university schools of medicine — can apply for up to $100 million in grant funding in their first year to develop and implement behavioral health education programs that can be replicated around the state.

    The designation comes less than a year after TGH, USF Health and Lifepoint Behavioral Health broke ground on the TGH Behavioral Health Hospital in Tampa’s Medical and Research District. The incoming four-story, 83,000-sq.-ft. facility will feature 96 inpatient beds and units for treating people with behavioral health issues compounded by other medical conditions. Along with a full range of inpatient and outpatient care in specialized units for child, adolescent, adult and geriatric patients, the hospital will also offer residencies, fellowships and research opportunities.

    The facility is on track to be completed by February, says TGH CEO John Couris. “As a country, we have struggled with addressing mental health at almost every level,” he says. “I think Florida is addressing this — and we’ve got a long way to go — but we’re addressing this in a very systemic, thoughtful way. ... We’ve really hit mental health head-on.”

    SPORTS

    • IMG Academy, a preparatory boarding school dedicated to sports training, is adding a softball program and has begun constructing batting cages, a locker room, office space and four softball fields on its Bradenton campus. Joey Lye, who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics with Canada, was appointed as the academy’s first softball director. The facilities and program are expected to be ready to play ball by fall 2025.

    ENVIRONMENT

    • FEMA is awarding a $2.3-million hazard mitigation grant to the city of Sarasota for a wind protection project. Hurricane Ian left a trail of destruction in Southwest Florida in 2022, damaging traffic signals and prompting road delays and accidents. This project will reinforce Sarasota’s traffic infrastructure to withstand 170 mph winds.

    TECHNOLOGY

    • The Florida Institute of Oceanography is collaborating with EaseAlert, a Largo-based company, on its lower-stress alerting method that’s traditionally used for firefighters. The institute’s Western Flyer research vessel is now equipped with the company’s tactile and visual alerting system to notify crew members of emergencies. This upgrade allows those with auditory disabilities to participate in research onboard.

    NONPROFITS

    • The Suncoast Center — a nonprofit providing mental health, substance abuse and sexual assault recovery services in Pinellas County — announced Jean D. Pierre as its new president and CEO. Pierre served most recently as the executive vice president and chief behavioral health officer at Community Health of South Florida, where he worked for more than 15 years.
    • Baker Senior Center Naples, a nonprofit serving seniors and their families in Collier and Lee counties, has been awarded $260,000 from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs for its Dementia Respite Support Program and Geriatric Mental Health Services.

    HOSPITALITY

    • The seven-story, 163-room Moxy St. Petersburg Downtown hotel has opened in the city’s Edge District, sporting a rooftop pool, restaurant, coffee bar, public meeting spaces and more amenities. It’s the first stage of The Edge Collective, a larger mixed-use project that will build out a Pilates studio, a barbershop, office spaces, a Turkish restaurant, luxury apartments and commercial and retail space on St. Petersburg’s main drag.

    ARTS

    • Following abrupt and controversial departures of several senior staffers, downtown St. Petersburg’s Museum of Fine Arts has named Klaudio Rodriguez executive director and CEO. He had most recently served as executive director of the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York City.

    HIGHER EDUCATION

    • The University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus has opened its Student Center and Atala Residence Hall. The six-story, 100,000-sq.-ft. building houses a bookstore, ballroom, dining facilities, game room, study lounges, meeting rooms, suites and apartments. It marks the campus’ first-ever residence hall and its first major addition since it opened in 2006.
    • The USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy has moved its pharmacy program into the USF Health Downtown building in Water Street Tampa. The 30,000-sq.-ft. space currently includes a clinical learning center, a “maker space” and “pitch” room for entrepreneurship opportunities, a classroom with a hologram, common areas, lounges and more.
    • Anne B. Kerr, longtime president of Lakeland’s Florida Southern College, retired in August. During her 20-year tenure, she facilitated 22 new buildings and 20 building expansions, and raised $308 million through her “Believe Campaign.” Her successor, Jeremy P. Martin, was formerly the vice president for strategy and innovation at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

    TRANSPORTATION

    • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has authorized Port Tampa Bay’s plan to deepen its main channels from 43 to 47 feet. The project — the result of a three-year Tampa Harbor Navigation Improvement Study — will increase the port’s capacity to handle its 35-million-plus tons of annual cargo and strengthen its role as an emerging container port.
    • Six new nonstop flights with Breeze Airways now connect the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport to Westchester County and Long Island-Islip, N.Y.; Akron, Ohio; Portland, Maine; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Richmond, Va. By February, the airline will also launch a nonstop flight to New Haven, Conn.

    HOUSING

    • Wingspan Development Group and ABC Capital Corp. have broken ground on The Whitt, a 211-unit rental community 12 miles southeast of downtown Tampa in Riverview. The project will include three four-story buildings with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, a 24-hour fitness center and yoga studio, a community clubhouse with a lounge and outdoor swimming pool, and a dog park.
    • West Palm Beach-based Verdex Construction has completed the Apella on Newport student housing project in Tampa. The eight-story complex spans almost 258,000 square feet and contains 150 units, 576 beds and a two-story parking garage. Amenities include a rooftop clubhouse, a third-floor amenity deck with a fitness center, communal study areas and a pool with a BBQ area.