september 23, 2011
TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL
THE NEWS | 11
www.tampabaybusinessjournal.com
Site tour shows healthy progress at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel BY ALEXIS MUELLNER EDITOR
I live near the site of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, and it has been fun to watch its evolution from the Bruce B. Downs thoroughfare. I decided I wanted to ask for a closer look. The $150.7 million, 288bed project is on budget and Muellner just ahead of schedule, said Brian Adams, chief executive officer of the hospital, as we explore the active site employing roughly 200 a day right now. It’s slated to open in fall 2012, the building activity in this corridor a bright spot in a sluggish commercial real estate sector. Walking the site, Adams is clearly focused on design and the system’s healing mission. It’s an incredible experience to have the opportunity to build a new hospital from scratch in these times — when approaches to care delivery are Adams evolving. Please take a tour of the construction site in the slideshow we posted online. I’ve added lots of details in captions. The goal of reducing the stress of the hospital experience on patients, their families and friends and staff was talked
SEE MORE PHOTOS in a slideshow at www.TampaBayBusinessJournal.com.
about repeatedly during my visit. This was evident in many aspects of the plan, from the huge amounts of natural light, outdoor landscaping and gardens, to the use of new projection technologies designed to let kids theme room art, or to project scenes of nature on key spaces. A ‘W’ shape allows for patients to easily access one of three wings quickly, and means as the facility builds out, patients and staff will not see an active construction site from the front. amuellner@bizjournals.com | 813.342.2472
PHOTOS BY ALEXIS MUELLNER
Clockwise from top: A panoramic view on site of Florida Hospital in Wesley Chapel. A view down the second floor corridor. A look at some of the plans on the trailer wall.
SM