Community starts construction on $77 million health care facility

FORT MYERS — A nonprofit continuing care retirement community in Fort Myers recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction on a $77 million project to build an onsite health care facility.

Waterside Health Center, a six-level, nearly 200,000-square-foot building, will be built in the Shell Point community, according to a news release. It will include a 180-bed skilled nursing facility with private rooms and a full-service health clinic.

“The new Waterside Health Center will increase our ability to offer unique, state-of-the-art health care services in a more comfortable and convenient setting so that Shell Point’s medical team can provide personalized care to an even greater number of Shell Point residents and the surrounding community,” Shell Point President Martin Schappell says in the release.

The building will include a rehabilitation center with therapy pool, pharmacy, dental suite, nurse stations, dining and living rooms, sunrooms, plus a salon and day spa. Additional features include a butterfly garden, chapel and prayer garden, boardwalk, gazebo and bistro.

To complete this project, Shell Point has partnered with The Weitz Company. The project is expected to be completed in 2021.