- November 11, 2026
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Tampa General Hospital broke ground Monday on a new 170-unit Brandon apartment complex designed to help the $4 billion healthcare system recruit and retain employees.
The company chosen to build the new community is Camden, New Jersey-based The Michaels Organization, which is being sued in federal court by families who lived on MacDill Air Force Base and allege, among other things, illnesses linked to mold exposure. The company has also drawn the ire of two local Congressional leaders who are demanding changes and tighter restrictions.
The development, called The Linden, will rent apartments exclusively to Tampa General and USF Health workers earning between 80% and 120% of the area median income, TGH says. For a one-person household in Hillsborough County, that’s a salary between $64,250 annually and $96,360 annually under 2026 state housing guidelines. The hospital’s announcement does not list rents for the one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
After four years of planning for an affordable, convenient community for its employees, TGH says The Linden will be the first workforce housing community backed by a healthcare employer ever built in Hillsborough County. It's also being built utilizing the state's Live Local Act.
"When we care for our team, they are better prepared to care for the patients we serve,” John Couris, president and CEO of Florida Health Sciences Center and Tampa General, says in the hospital’s announcement. “We saw the rising cost of housing as a challenge for our team members, and it is not only impacting their bottom line, but also their quality of life. While TGH cannot solve the housing challenges alone, we are making strides through meaningful partnerships, ones that have enabled us to develop The Linden.”
At 9804 Delaney Creek Blvd., the complex is expected to open in late summer 2028, with the waitlist for its one-, two- and three-bedroom homes expected to open early next year.
Tampa General already owned the property, which is roughly one mile away from its TGH Brandon Emergency Center, the announcement says. Hillsborough County property records show TGH, through Florida Health Sciences Center Inc., bought the 5.27-acre site from JT Enterprises II LLC for $2.5 million Dec. 27, 2021.
A free shuttle will run between The Linden, Tampa General’s main campus on Davis Islands and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine in downtown Tampa.
Families will also benefit from a 5,000-square-foot childcare facility on site, operated by O2B Kids, the announcement says. Other planned amenities at The Linden include a pool, playground, garden, dog park and numerous community gathering spaces.
TGH partnered with Camden, New Jersey real estate firm The Michaels Organization to develop and construct The Linden, the release says. Urban Practice, also headquartered in Camden, is the architect.
The project is expected to cost an estimated $60 million, funded through a public-private partnership, the health system says. TGH leveraged the state’s Live Local Act, enacted in 2023, to fast-track its public approval and streamline construction.
The apartments also received about $12.5 million from the State’s Housing Initiatives Partnership, or SHIP, to support construction and $2 million from Hillsborough County that will be paid out over a four-year span, the announcement says.
Hospital leaders identified affordable housing as a pressing need in a 2023 employee survey, officials told the crowd during Monday’s groundbreaking ceremony, and found that housing availability and affordability were becoming significant barriers to the hospital’s ability to attract and retain workers.
“The Linden is a direct answer to the expressed needs of our team members,” Qualenta Kivett, executive vice president and chief people and talent officer at Tampa General, says in the announcement. “Access to affordable housing and childcare within the confines of a manageable commute are barriers for many of our team members and this community is one more way we are working to help remove those barriers for the people who care for our community every day.”
Tampa General, a nonprofit health care system and the primary teaching hospital for the USF Morsani College of Medicine, says it employs more than 15,000 team members and providers across its healthcare system. That includes eight hospitals and nearly 170 care locations throughout Florida, according to the TGH website.
Tampa General reported an annualized operating revenue of about $4.1 billion for fiscal year 2025, according to Fitch Ratings.
While TGH officials are excited about the project, its development partner, The Michaels Organization, was in the news this week for an unrelated project at Harbor Bay, an on-base military housing at MacDill Air Force Base. An investigation published by Tampa Bay 28’s I-Team this week revealed numerous complaints from military families living in Harbor Bay about alleged mold, delayed repairs and health problems they attribute to their living conditions. The station also reported that the U.S. Air Force has placed The Michaels Organization on a performance improvement plan after the contractor failed seven consecutive quarterly performance reviews.
Some of those families are now pursuing civil litigation against The Michaels Organization, alleging fraud, negligence and illnesses linked to mold exposure. In September, a federal judge allowed multiple legal claims against Michaels and management entities AMC East Communities and MMS Air Force to be consolidated into a single civil suit representing 93 military families and more than 400 individuals.
Two phone calls and an email to The Michaels Organization seeking comment were not returned Wednesday.
A spokesperson for TGH says in an email to the Business Observer that the health system interviewed nine organizations before partnering with Michaels, conducting a thorough review process including background checks and references. Tampa General entered into an agreement with The Michaels Organization in 2024 to construct The Linden, but has not signed a contract to manage the property.
"The latest reports are extremely concerning, and we’re seeking to learn more as we determine our own next steps," the statement says. "The health and safety of our team members is our top priority."
Separately, U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, and Gus Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs, are calling for MacDill to replace The Michaels Organization and say they plan to pursue legislation strengthening enforcement of military housing contracts.
Castor raised concerns directly to The Michaels Organization vice president of military operations in a Jan. 8, 2025 letter about the company’s failure to make timely repairs after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, citing longstanding complaints about maintenance and communication that go back to a 2019 lawsuit filed by multiple families at MacDill.
“It is incredibly disheartening to hear that the longstanding housing issues at Harbor Bay have persisted and worsened,” Castor’s letter says. “Plain and simple, military families deserve high quality housing, and reports of substandard conditions of on-base Harbor Bay housing are unacceptable.”
The Michaels Organization representatives told Tampa Bay 28 it could not comment on pending litigation, but did say the company has invested more than $9 million in Harbor Bay improvements in 2026 and more than $63 million since 2019, including insurance-funded hurricane repairs.
