The campus redo is being done to help turn the hospital into a national destination for medical care and wellness
Good Samaritan Medical Center is redoing its West Palm Beach campus with plans to build a new hospital and medical office tower, rental housing, two luxury condominiums, a hotel and a mixed-use complex along the waterfront.
The project, estimated to cost between $2 billion and $3 billion, is being done in conjunction with a new entity called Easton Street Capital, created by two principals from Palm Beach-based Frisbie Group.
Good Sam’s plans for its newly named Center of Excellence will be among the pricest redevelopments in West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County.
The project also comes at a time when Good Sam is facing stiff competition from nonprofit, out-of-state health care providers who want to serve wealthy and well-insured residents who have moved to Palm Beach County.
“We have been serving the community for over 100 years,” said Maggie Gill, president of the Palm Beach Health Network, the parent of Tenet Healthcare’s hospitals in Palm Beach County, including Good Sam.
“As we look at how West Palm Beach is growing, we thought it was important to modernize our approach to health care,” Gill said. “It’s not just about being in a new building. It’s about enhancing the services.
Details of the new Good Sam hospital
Plans are to build a new hospital directly west of the existing Good Sam hospital, which faces the Intracoastal Waterway and Palm Beach, and is at 1309 N. Flagler Dr.
The new hospital is expected to be double the height of the existing five-story hospital, and it will continue to feature water views in patient rooms, she said.
In addition, Good Sam will expand its services in cancer, cardiac and breast health care. Pediatric services will be added, too.
Good Sam expects demand for inpatient care will increase to 225 beds from about 175 now.
The new hospital not only will serve the needs of the growing population but also serve as another lure for recruiting and keeping health care workers.
The addition of workforce housing on the western edge of the campus is an added bonus, Gill said. “It’s expensive to live in Palm Beach County,” she said. “We’ve had people leave the area or drive from other counties.”
But the campus will be more than just a place for health care professionals to live and work.
It also will serve as a destination medical center and a luxury independent living complex, as well as a signature provider of longevity services, according to Cody Crowell, a principal of Easton.
“We want to position the campus to be among one of the premier health care destinations in the country,” Crowell said.
Plans are to start construction of the new hospital by mid-2027. The new hospital could take up to 30 months to build.
New plans for a mixed-use and longevity center
Once the new hospital is built, Good Sam’s longtime hospital building will be torn down and turned into a mixed-use complex of restaurants and shops.
The circular-shaped building also will house a longevity center.
These centers, which are growing across the country, can include genetic and metabolic profiling, cardiac imaging and other therapies designed to keep people healthy and ward off illnesses.
A hotel also is planned in another tower and be available to tourists as well as people seeking medical care from Good Sam or at the longevity center.
Meanwhile, on the north and south side of the circular structure, Easton wants to build two, 25-story for-sale condominiums for independent living.
Each tower is expected to have about 150 units, Crowell said.
The Good Sam site is not zoned for tall towers, so Crowell said the project will need to go before the city of West Palm Beach to allow for the high-rises.
In recent years, the city has lifted height restrictions along Flagler Drive to allow for other tall buildings, including new condominiums and an office tower.
In fact, just to the north of Good Sam, a Ritz-Carlton Residences condominium is set to start construction on Feb. 24 at 1717 N. Flagler Drive.
In addition, Related Ross soon plans to tear down Temple Israel and build the Shorecrest condominium at 1901 N. Flagler Drive.
Growing competition from other providers
The massive redevelopment comes as West Palm Beach is brimming with new, out-of-state health care facilities eager to cater to wealthy residents who also are well-insured.
These providers include Cleveland Clinic, which plans to build a 150-bed hospital along Australian Avenue facing Clear Lake, and also is quadrupling its medical office space at an office tower being built at CityPlace; and NYU Langone Health, which is building a medical tower at 324 Datura St.
Gill said Tenet is looking to partner with leading out-of-area providers, too, but she said she couldn’t yet provide details.
About Us:
The Palm Beach Health Network (PBHN), comprising six hospitals and care centers spanning Palm Beach County, is the largest healthcare network in Palm Beach County. Our hospitals, including Delray Medical Center, Good Samaritan Medical Center, Palm Beach Children’s Hospital, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center, and West Boca Medical Center.
The network also includes a large multi-specialty physician group, various ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient diagnostic facilities, is recognized for providing the highest quality healthcare, combining cutting-edge health services with patient-centric care. With the greatest longevity in the community, along with hospitals and care centers that span the entirety of Palm Beach County, more patients trust PBHN than any other in the region.
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