Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is moving forward with plans to bring North Port its first full-service hospital—and it’s already preparing for future growth before construction even begins.

Groundbreaking is set for November on Sarasota Memorial’s site along North Sumter Boulevard near I-75. The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board recently approved an additional $57 million investment to add three extra floors of shell space to the main hospital tower and another floor of shell space to the connected medical office building. This raises the project’s overall cost to $507 million.

Once complete, Sarasota Memorial Hospital–North Port will stand nine stories tall with 100 inpatient beds, while the adjoining medical office building will span three stories. By adding shell space now, SMH will be able to expand more quickly down the road—doubling capacity to 208 beds and increasing medical office space from 60,000 to 90,000 square feet—without major disruptions to patients or staff.

“With the rapid population growth in south Sarasota County and the rising costs of construction, building for future expansion upfront makes sense both financially and operationally,” said David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System.

Scheduled to open in fall 2028, the new hospital will offer emergency care, inpatient and outpatient services, diagnostic imaging, surgical specialties, and physician practices. Long-term plans for the North Port campus envision a flexible design that could eventually expand to more than 400 beds, subject to future planning and approvals.

Source:  ABC 7