City Gives Green Light to SMH-Venice Development Plans

The Venice City Council today approved a zoning amendment that gave a green light to Sarasota Memorial’s development plans for its new Venice hospital.

The 65-acre site at the intersection of Laurel and Pinebrook roads near I-75 had been zoned for a shopping center. With today’s vote, the City Council unanimously approved SMH’s request to allow a hospital and related health care facilities to be built on the site. The decision followed two uncontested public hearings and strong support from community and city leaders. 

“This is a pivotal day for our health system and the community,” said SMH-Venice President Sharon Roush. “We are excited about the new hospital and the exceptional care it will bring to the residents of Venice and south county.”

The health system broke ground on the hospital campus in April and obtained permits to begin land clearing and deep foundation work. On May 7, the Planning Board approved SMH’s site and development plans pending approval of the zoning amendment.

Construction is expected to take two and a half years with a total project cost of $437 million. The initial development covers 48 acres on the eastern side of the parcel and includes:

• A 5-story, 365,000-square-foot hospital, with 110 private rooms and 28-bed emergency center
• A 2-story, 60,000-square-foot medical office building
• Related support structures and service area
• An adjacent parking garage and surface parking lots

The hospital will offer a full array of medical and surgical care, including: Cardiology Unit/Catheterization Lab; Critical Care/Intensive Care Unit; Emergency Care; Endoscopy & other procedural areas; Gastroenterology; Labor & Delivery/Post-Partum Unit; Laboratory/Diagnostic Testing; Nephrology; Neurology/Neurosurgery; Oncology; Orthopedics; Pulmonology; Imaging/Radiology; Urology and more. The SMH-Venice hospital will be hurricane hardened with a seamless connection to SMH’s electronic medical records and information technology.

As the community grows, so will Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice, said Roush. The building design is flexible and expandable to support a significant increase in patient suites, from 110 to 270 beds, a 50-bed emergency center, expanded surgical suites and treatment areas, as well as additional medical office buildings on the west side of the campus. The site also includes space for a hurricane shelter, pending approval and funding from Sarasota County.  

The campus is expected to generate hundreds of jobs during construction, and more than 500 employees will work at the facility when it opens. Located about halfway between Sarasota and North Port off I-75, the campus also will bring SMH’s extensive physician base further south, which in turn will help build the medical staff for a future hospital in North Port.

SMH hosts periodic community meetings to share updates and solicit feedback from community residents and the public. The health system also convened a neighborhood advisory council that meets regularly. For architectural renderings, building animation and more information, visit: smh.com/venicehospitalupdates