 Rendering: Florida Hospital’s downtown tower. |
As they prepare to open a $255-million, 15-story hospital tower later this year in the Lake Ivanhoe area, Florida Hospital officials want to build a “health village” surrounding it.
The new facility includes one of the largest emergency rooms in the nation along with a cardiovascular institute. The hospital also wants to build onsite employee housing, medical offices, retail stores, restaurants and a commuter rail stop, says Rich Morrison, vice president of government affairs for Adventist Health System, which operates the hospital. Build-out would stretch to 2023.
The plan is big enough to merit development of regional impact status — the city, central Florida regional planning officials and the state Department of Community Affairs must sign off on the proposal.
Hospital officials are adding final revisions to the DRI submission.
- So far, key parts of the project include:
- Up to 440 beds in the new tower, bringing the hospital’s main Orlando campus to 1,330 beds.
- Doubling Florida Hospital’s downtown workforce in 15 years to 18,000 to 19,000.
- A 200-unit apartment building.
- A commuter rail stop with $2.5 million to $3 million from the hospital. The state Transportation Department is building the rail system in Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties, with service to start in 2010.
- Enhanced bus service. The hospital is pushing for more trips from the city’s Lynx transportation operation, plus a service similar to the free Lymmo shuttle between workplaces and restaurants, banks and other businesses.
- An alternative site for the Theatre Downtown, now situated on a prime site in the development area.