Clearwater health care organization buys offices for $145 million

BayCare Health System has bought a 36-acre office property in Tampa for $145 million.

The property is in the Tampa Bay Park, an office complex on W. Martin Luther King Boulevard next to BayCare’s St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s Children’s and St. Joseph’s Women’s hospitals.

According to a statement from the health system, the purchase includes three buildings and two parking garages. The space totals 615,656 square feet of office space and 2,501 parking spaces.

BayCare says in the statement that it will use the property over time to consolidate services from leased offices and that the space will provide room for growth. That includes expanding its BayCare Medical Group physician’s practice and providing headquarters for its graduate medical education and research programs, which is expected to grow to 650 residents by 2029.

“Eventually, the health system envisions directly linking the property via a new, vehicular bridge to its hospitals’ campus and using the facilities to complement the system’s needs but also those of St. Joseph’s hospitals — three centrally located facilities that are poised to expand to meet the region’s needs," the release states. 

BayCare did not disclose the sale price but Hillsborough County records show it bought the partial piece of the office park from Highwoods Properties for the $145 million.

The hospital system, according to its website, currently operates 16 hospitals and employs nearly 32,000 employees. It had $5.5 billion in operating revenue in 2023.  

In addition to its plans for its newest property, BayCare is planning to build a new St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital on the current campus that is expected to open by 2030.