Manatee County to get a new hospital as medical complex planned in fast-growing Parrish
With more than 25,000 new homes coming to the Parrish area, it was inevitable that greatly expanded health care facilities would follow.
Now planned for North River Ranch, the largest of the new Parrish neighborhoods, is a 150-bed hospital, a 326-bed assisted living facility, and 247,000 square feet of medical office space at 9308 Fort Hamer Road.
“I knew that the developer has been trying to get a hospital system in,” Gretchen Fowler, president of the Parrish Civic Association said this week. “We need one. It makes sense for it to go on Moccasin Wallow Road because they are widening it.”
John Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods, confirmed this week that a hospital and an assisted living facility are planned for the village center of North River Ranch, which could eventually have a population of 28,000.
“It fills a void in north Manatee County,” Neal said.
A hospital is allowed, but not in the original plans for North River Ranch.
“It’s a new use that we had not originally planned,” Neal said.
The developer has submitted a request to Manatee County Building Services for a comprehensive plan map amendment for a 50-acre area north of Moccasin Wallow Road, east of Carter Road and west of U.S. 301 where the hospital and assisted living facility are planned.
Already approved for that area are residences and retail and office space.
“We are in a deal but are not prepared to announce the name. It’s one of the nation’s leading health care companies,” Neal said of the prospective hospital owner and operator. “There will be a hospital emergency room and an intensive care unit. There will also be a medical office building.”
The population growth north of the Manatee River has reached critical mass, and that will bring high-quality jobs to the area as well, Neal said.
The planning map request shows that 2,497 residential units, 202,000-square-feet of retail/commercial space, and 20,000-square-feet of office space have already been approved.
“We are just refining what we already have approved,” Neal said.
Restaurant and retail businesses for North River Ranch will be announced in the future, he said.
The last time a new hospital opened in Manatee County was on Sept. 1, 2004, when Lakewood Ranch Medical Center opened its doors.
The 180,000-square-foot, 120-bed facility opened on a 30-acre campus. Also on the hospital campus at 8330 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. are two three-story medical office buildings.
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and its sister hospital, Manatee Memorial Hospital, 206 Second S. E., are owned by Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS), a King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company.
“One of the reasons we placed the facility there was so that it would be close to I-75. It would be in that community and it would give residents out there a much quicker response,” said Vernon DeSear in 2004. He was at that time the spokesman for Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.
“Time is important when you’re dealing with an emergency situation,” DeSear said.
The closest hospitals for Parrish residents are Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Manatee Memorial Hospital, and Blake Medical Center, 2020 59th St. W.
Blake is owned by HCA Healthcare, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
