PARRISH, Fla. — Not too long ago, the typical landscape in North Manatee County featured sprawling green land, much of it home to livestock.
But drive through that area today. You'll see the area is growing and growing fast.
"From the time that we moved in, it's been booming. Yeah, definitely. There's a lot of people, a lot of building going on. It's gonna be a big community," said Sue Ann Resnick, who moved to the area two years ago from Michigan.
"It's an influx of people that are moving here," said Eric Greene, who works in the area.
One of the most recently announced projects will provide a crucial element to the development.
"We look at the region, and we determine where we're most needed. And although we can't go everywhere when you look at a location such as Manatee with the robust growth in the population, we know we're needed," said Stephanie Conners, BayCare CEO and President.
Baycare Hospital Manatee will be built on the Robinson Gateway Property on Moccasin Wallow Road. The hospital will sit one mile north of the I-75 and I-275 intersection in Manatee County.
BayCare anticipates opening the hospital, its 17th in West Central Florida, in 2027 with 154 beds in private patient rooms. Additionally, the $548 million project will include a 45,000-square-foot medical arts building.
BayCare Hospital Manatee will offer services including general, orthopedic, and specialty surgery, urology, gastroenterology, cardiology, diagnostic and interventional imaging, emergency care, obstetrics, and neonatology.
The hospital’s design anticipates expanding to 207 beds when needed, with additional capacity possible as the community grows.
This will be Manatee's only hospital north of the Manatee River. It will also be the first not-for-profit.
"BayCare's known for investing 10% of its revenues back into the community, so it's bigger than a hospital," said Conners.
This is all good news to the people who live and work in the growing small town.
"It definitely makes me feel good. I mean, that I don't have to drive so far. Because everything is so far away, to go to any hospital like either Tampa or Bradenton or Lakewood Ranch," said Resnick.
Construction begins in October.
