Skanska has reached a major construction milestone on a $435 million hospital project in Florida, marking the structural completion of the facility.
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The U.S. division of the Stockholm-based contractor recently topped out the forthcoming hospital and medical office building for Lee Health in Fort Myers, Florida. The milestone was celebrated with a traditional topping-out ceremony, during which project stakeholders signed and installed the final structural beam.
The five-story hospital building represents a major healthcare investment for the region and is designed to expand medical capacity and services for the growing Southwest Florida population.
To date, construction teams have logged more than 720,000 labor hours on the project. Approximately 700 workers have been on site each day, working alongside 56 trade partners to complete the structure. According to project details, crews have poured more than 33,000 cubic yards of concrete and installed roughly 12 miles of gas piping.
“Reaching this milestone underscores the extraordinary teamwork and dedication of the many local, small businesses who are helping to bolster the local economy as we drive this innovative healthcare project forward,” Bob Kramer, vice president and account manager for Skanska’s Florida building operations, said in the release.
The hospital was designed by Flad Architects, an architecture firm headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. It is being built on the 52-acre Lee Health Fort Myers campus, expanding the healthcare network’s presence in the region.
Once completed, the hospital will span approximately 400,000 square feet, housing both medical treatment areas and administrative office space. The campus will also include a 122,000-square-foot medical office building that will accommodate an ambulatory surgery center and additional healthcare services.
The development is designed to support a wide range of clinical operations and patient services. Phase One of the project will feature:
The facility is scheduled to open in 2028, expanding healthcare access for residents across Southwest Florida.
Because Florida hospitals must remain operational during severe weather events, the project includes several resiliency and sustainability features designed to ensure continuous healthcare operations.
One of the most notable upgrades is an emergency makeup water well, a first for a Lee Health facility. This system will help keep air conditioning and cooling systems operational if municipal water services are disrupted.
Additional protective measures include redundant power systems, dual-fuel generators, and a reinforced building envelope engineered to withstand winds up to 150 miles per hour.
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To reduce flood risk, the project site has been elevated above 100-year flood projections, with an additional foot of elevation added to improve protection against potential rising waters.
The project reflects continued strength in the healthcare construction sector, which has remained resilient even as some other nonresidential markets have slowed.
According to the Dodge Construction Network, healthcare development has been one of the brighter segments in recent months, alongside rapid growth in data center construction.
Industry analysts say demographic shifts, hospital modernization efforts, and increasing demand for specialized care facilities are continuing to drive new healthcare projects across the United States.
As a result, large-scale hospital developments like the Lee Health project are expected to remain an important part of the construction pipeline in the coming years.
Originally reported by Zachary Phillips, Editor in Construction Dive.
