Skanska Begins $229M Medical Center Project in Fort Myers
Once the expansion is complete, the Gulf Coast Medical Center’s bed capacity will increase from 356 to 624.
FORT MYERS, FL—Skanska reports it has begun construction on the more than 365,000-square-foot expansion and renovation of the Gulf Coast Medical Center here that will add 268 beds to the facility.
The $229-million project, being built on behalf of Lee Health, will require Skanska and joint venture partner Gates Construction to deploy two 550-foot tall cranes that will add three floors consisting of 216 patient rooms and 52 intensive care unit rooms to the complex. The project will also entail the renovation of 48,500 square feet of existing space at the center.
As part of phase one, a 1,300-space parking garage was built and opened in August of 2017. Designed by architecture firm HKS, Inc., the 365,700-square-foot project is scheduled for completion in September 2021. The scope of work includes the expansion of the emergency department, clinical laboratory, radiology department, dining services and the central energy plant. Once the expansion is complete, the Gulf Coast Medical Center’s bed capacity will increase from 356 to 624.
“Over the years, Skanska has had the privilege to partner with Gulf Coast Medical Center to help the hospital expand and meet growing healthcare needs in the Fort Myers community,” says Michael C. Brown, executive vice president and general manager of Skanska USA’s building operations in Florida. “With our latest project with Lee Health, we will continue to showcase our team’s expertise in healthcare construction to further enhance and grow the hospital’s state-of-the-art facilities.”
Skanska completed a major project for Lee Health at the Gulf Coast Medical Center in 2009. The project, which began in 2006, involved 423,000-square feet of new construction and the renovation of 25,000 square feet of existing space.
The project consisted of the consolidation of two hospitals—Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center and Gulf Coast Medical Center—into one campus. The new hospital included an emergency department, lab, radiology, med/surg, surgery department, 22 operating rooms, new central energy plant, kitchen, new dining and atrium, 229 patient beds and pharmacy.
Currently, Skanska is building several healthcare construction projects in Florida, including the renovation at the Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital and an expansion at Broward Health North, both located in Broward County. It completed in November a major expansion of UF Health Shands’ Cardiovascular and Neuroscience Hospital in Gainesville. In addition, Skanska recently delivered the new 128-bed Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers, also a Lee Health facility.