Sarasota Memorial buys Lakewood Ranch land for clinic
Sarasota Memorial buys Lakewood Ranch land for clinic
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Sarasota Memorial Hospital will further boost its presence in Lakewood Ranch with a new medical facility near the eastern edge of the master planned community.
On Monday, the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board approved the purchase of 1.85 acres of commercial property at the southwest corner of State Road 70 and Lorraine Road. Hospital officials say the land could be used to build a First Physicians Group primary care clinic.
The board approved spending up to $900,000 to acquire the land from its owner, Lakewood Ranch master developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch. The buyer and seller have inked a sales contract for $803,682, according to hospital spokeswoman Kim Savage. The hospital will likely take possession of the property in January.
Savage said the property's zoning will allow the hospital to build up to 18,000 square feet of medical office space. In addition to a First Physicians office, other possible uses for the property include outpatient, imaging and lab services. First Physicians is a subsidiary of Sarasota Memorial.
The property purchase comes about a month after the hospital acquired the former Pediatric Associates of Sarasota office near downtown Lakewood Ranch. It is now operating under the 21-year-old First Physicians nameplate.
If the hospital develops its new property in Lakewood Ranch into a First Physicians clinic, it would join 24 other locations between Heritage Harbour near the Manatee River and North Port in southern edge of Sarasota County.
Savage said the hospital's presence in Lakewood Ranch is a natural. About 30 percent of the hospital company's patient business came from Manatee County during its recently ended fiscal year. It recorded 97,000 patient "encounters" from the Lakewood Ranch area alone.
The hospital system also has about 200 staff members who live in Lakewood Ranch.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter@MattAtBradenton.
This story was originally published October 19, 2015 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Sarasota Memorial buys Lakewood Ranch land for clinic ."