DAVIS ISLANDS, Fla. — The expansion of Tampa General Hospital has been years in the making.
If you’ve been walking, biking or running on Bayshore Boulevard lately, you’ve probably noticed the demolition.
“This site used to be our rehabilitation hospital,” said Dustin Pasteur, VP of Facilities and Construction for TGH.
Most recently, it was TGH’s COVID hospital, and for the past few weeks, crews have been tearing it down.
“We’re out of space on this campus,” said Pasteur.
So they’re expanding— making room for a new, state-of-the-art, 13-story tower that will provide 144 patient beds, 32 operating suites and an increase in intensive care unit capacity, with room to grow.
“To meet kind of the growing needs of the population that’s moving here and the high acuity of the region,” said Pasteur.
Crews are getting ready to start pouring the foundations next week as they move forward with the project that will serve as the flagship for TGH’s mast facility plan.
The next phase is mostly underground work. In November, the building will start to come out of the ground.
“Between now and November, you’re not going to see a lot of visible work here because we’re going to be digging down into the ground, pouring piers and foundations for the building,” said Pasteur. “Between November this year and November next year, the full frame will be constructed."
As the expansion moves forward, TGH said they’re working to make this building a feature of Tampa’s future skyline.
“We put a lot of thought into the design of the building. We made a conscious decision to spend a little bit more money on the exterior look of the building, knowing that downtown is going to see this building first and foremost for the next 100 years,” said Pasteur.
A ground breaking is being planned for April 15.
The expansion is expected to open in the Summer of 2027.
