$563M Manatee County hospital breaks ground

Clearwater-based BayCare broke ground this week on its first hospital in Manatee County. The $563 million BayCare Hospital Manatee will include 154 beds in private rooms on Moccasin Wallow Road in Palmetto, near the Interstate 75 and I-275 interchange. The hospital is expected to open in early 2028.

BayCare Hospital Manatee will be the first not-for-profit hospital in Manatee County and the only hospital north of the Manatee River.

“Today is an exciting day as this groundbreaking represents BayCare's ongoing commitment to improving health care access for the communities we serve," BayCare President and CEO Stephanie Conners says in an April 30 statement.

Services available at BayCare Hospital Manatee will include emergency care; general, orthopedic and specialty surgery; urology; gastroenterology; cardiology; diagnostic and interventional imaging; obstetrics; and neonatology.

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To accommodate potential growth, the hospital will be designed to expand to 207 beds as needed. Construction firm Robins & Morton is building BayCare Hospital Manatee.

Before the hospital is complete, a 45,000-square-foot outpatient facility called BayCare HealthHub will be developed on adjacent property. 

Expected to open in 2026, the hub will house BayCare Medical Group providers offering primary and specialty care in addition to outpatient laboratory and imaging services. 

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“BayCare Hospital Manatee and BayCare HealthHub (Manatee) will provide residents with high-quality, compassionate care closer to home,” Conners says, “and we are proud to bring these essential services to the region.”

BayCare Health System operates 16 hospitals in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties. BayCare Hospital Manatee will be its 17th hospital. In 2024, the health care system posted $6.27 billion in operating revenue.