Tampa General Hospital opens new food court; Prepares to build new hospital

Kathy Steele | Monday, October 20, 2014

Tampa General Hospital is in the midst of expanding and renovating in major and minor ways from building a medical campus on Kennedy Boulevard to redesigning the hospital's main entrance and food court.

Hospital officials are nearing a construction start for a rehabilitation hospital on the site of the former Ferman Chevrolet automobile dealership at 1307 Kennedy Blvd. Tampa City Council is expected to give is final approval to the project on Nov. 6.

Chief Executive Officer Jim Burkhart says some design tweaking is under way but he anticipates announcing the project within the next month.

City records show the project will have a 150-bed professional and residential treatment center, a 100-room hotel or motel, 53,000 square feet of administrative offices, 100,000 square feet for medical uses and 15,000 square feet for an employee day care. There also is a free-standing garage. The campus is planned in phases.

Residents in North Hyde Park are eager to see the project completed and expect an influx of "new young people" who want to live in new condominiums or houses in the neighborhood, says Wesley Weissenburger of the North Hyde Park Civic Association. He spoke in favor of the hospital's proposal at a public hearing before city council on Oct. 9.

"People will come to North Hyde Park because of this facility," says Weissenburger. "This will bring people who will be working there. They will bring upgrades to our community and the value of our community will rise."

TGH also is celebrating the opening on Davis Islands of a new main entrance to the hospital's West Pavilion and improvements to an expanded food court.

"The entrance was not benefiting a world class organization like Tampa General Hospital," says John Brabson Jr., chairman of the hospital's board of directors, who spoke at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. "It's going to get great use. It's very, very practical the way it's designed."

The redesign by Healy & Partners Architects is the first since the former main entrance was built in 1986. Construction by Barton Marlow includes a new covered patient discharge and pickup area, a new patient discharge lounge in the main lobby and an enclosed valet station. About 250 vehicles a day drive up the main entrance.

The new food court, designed by Alfonso Architects, includes electronic and interactive menu screens that provide nutritional tips and calorie counts. The hospital serves up to four million meals a year to visitors, employees and patients.

Menus include healthy options such as vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. Food venues include The Rotisserie which features chicken, ribs and sides; The Italian Grill with pizzas and regional dishes; and The Bayshore Grill with fried cod sandwiches and shrimp baskets.

Cost of the new main entrance is about $3.4 million. The food court cost about $2.3 million.

Recently TGH opened Tampa General Medical Group (TGMG) Family Care Center Trinity. This is the hospital's first primary care location in Pasco County. Another family care center is expected to open in Wesley Chapel early in 2015.

TGH also is in the midst of a $22 million, multiyear project to upgrade all of its operating rooms, says Burkhart.

"We have to operate and renovate and keep expanding space because it has to be refurbished about every five to seven years," he says. "You're just constantly doing it."

Read more articles by Kathy Steele.

Kathy Steele is a freelance writer who lives in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa. She previously covered Tampa neighborhoods for more than 15 years as a reporter for The Tampa Tribune. She grew up in Georgia but headed north to earn a BA degree from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. She backpacked through Europe before attending the University of Iowa's Creative Writers' Workshop for two years. She has a journalism degree from Georgia College. She likes writing, history, and movies.