News Release: Health First and Gilbane Building Company Have Officially Broken Ground on the New Cape Canaveral Hospital and Medical Office Building in Merritt Island

NEWS PROVIDED BY Gilbane Building Company

Mar 24, 2024, 17:00 ET

Located in Brevard County, the state-of-the-art 120-bed hospital will provide innovative modern acute care treatment

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla., March 24, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Gilbane was thrilled to join the groundbreaking celebration during ‘3-2-1 Day’ in Brevard County, a special tribute to the region’s 3-2-1 area code and thriving aerospace/technology industry. Collaborating with project partners, Lawrence Group, Concord Group, and BCER, for design, project management, and engineering, this facility will replace the current Cape Canaveral Hospital, providing the Brevard community with convenient access to modern medical treatments and wellness programs. The new hospital is poised to elevate healthcare services on Florida’s space coast.

Expected to cost approximately $410 million, construction is slated to finish by the end of 2026, and the hospital will officially open to the public in early 2027.

“This new project has been in the works for a long time and it truly speaks to Health First’s vision, mission, and strategy to set our community up for success today and beyond…” -Health First Board Chair Kent Smith

The new 268,000-square-foot Cape Canaveral Hospital will include:

  • 120 private inpatient beds.
  • 25 Emergency Department treatment rooms
  • 6 Operating Rooms

The Lawrence Group has designed the hospital to withstand a Category 4 hurricane. Continuation of care and the potential for evacuation will be evaluated for individual storms in consultation with state officials. The entire campus site will also be constructed 13 feet above sea level to withstand storm surges. The campus will be served by an on-site central energy plant, built to ensure continuous power function even during tropical storms and hurricanes.

“Gilbane has been a wonderful partner on this project with its highly functioning and collaborative team. Throughout the process, we worked seamlessly with Gilbane to ensure our entire design and construction team focused solely on fulfilling the owner’s goals and objectives. We have truly enjoyed our work with them and their subcontractors in delivering the best value to Health First for their replacement hospital,” said Lawrence Group President Mike Schnaare.

The campus will feature ample parking, including 296 paved/surface parking spots and 533 covered/structure parking spots. The three-deck parking structure and surface parking spots will provide easy and convenient access to the campus.

“We are happy to celebrate where we come from. Cape Canaveral Hospital opened its doors to our community on July 22, 1962. It was the first and only hospital to serve the beach and barrier island communities in Brevard County at the time,” said Health First Board Chair Kent Smith.

“Since then, Cape has received numerous awards, accreditations, and recognitions and was most recently named to Newsweek’s “Best Hospitals” list for the fourth year in a row, and we’re not done yet,” Smith continued. “This new project has been in the works for a long time – and it truly speaks to Health First’s vision, mission, and strategy to set our community up for success today and beyond. We are focused on caring for the exact needs of our community, and this moment reminds us of that.”

Medical Office Building

The new project will also include a new 3-story, 92,000-square-foot medical office building. Construction is expected to be completed by late 2026 and begin serving our community in early 2027 – simultaneously with the new Cape Canaveral Hospital.

The groundbreaking for the new Cape Canaveral Hospital campus comes just two weeks after ‘Newsweek’ named Cape Canaveral Hospital to its “Best Hospitals” list for 2024 – the fourth straight year Cape Canaveral has landed on the prestigious list – joining just two other Central Florida hospitals and 17 across the entire state of Florida.

“This Newsweek inclusion placing Cape Canaveral Hospital among the best hospitals in the nation and state of Florida is a tremendous honor for every one of our clinicians, associates, and volunteers, and certainly kicks off what we are anticipating being a very impactful year at Health First,” said Brett Esrock, Executive Vice President and CFO/COO, Health First.

“As we are planning for and making progress toward the future of our new Cape Canaveral Hospital, this honor is reflective of Health First and Cape’s commitment to providing the best wellness and medical care for our residents and visitors today and well into the future.”

While construction takes place over the next two years, Health First officials will continue to engage with state officials in Tallahassee to determine the future of the current Cape Canaveral Hospital site at 701 W. Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach, which resides in a special taxing district.

About Health First

Founded in 1995, Health First is Brevard County’s not-for-profit, community healthcare system. The fully integrated delivery network (IDN) includes health insurance plans, four hospitals, a multi-specialty medical group, and outpatient and wellness services. As a locally owned, not-for-profit organization, Health First is committed to investing in our community. In 2022 Health First provided more than $226 million in community support. To learn more about Health First and how we’re giving back to our community, please visit HFgivesback.org

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane Building Company is a global leader in construction management, delivering high-quality projects for clients across various markets. Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services – from preconstruction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build, and facility management services. Founded in 1870, Gilbane is still a privately held, family-owned company. With more than 45 office locations worldwide, Gilbane brings world-class experience to local communities.

Gilbane Central Florida has led the way in constructing major healthcare projects, the first net zero high school in the state, completing numerous education projects for Orange County Public Schools, and constructing major healthcare projects with extensive experience in delivering public, private, commercial, and institutional facilities, our team has the local market expertise, trusted long-term relationships, and specialized centers of excellence to ensure your project gets the exemplary service it deserves.

Media Contact

Heidi K Bodine, Gilbane Building Company, 407-204-4023, HBodine@Gilbaneco.com, www.gilbaneco.com

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