Managing Editor
Baptist Medical Center will ask for approvals, but no public funds, this week to build a $200 million, 11-story tower at its Downtown Southbank Campus.
Baptist will ask the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission during its Thursday meeting for a resolution of support approving development rights.
Baptist, a full-service medical center, plans a combination adult and pediatric replacement bed tower and surgery, diagnostic and treatment center that it calls the Wolfson Children’s Hospital/Adult Tower.
In the commission’s project summary, Baptist reports the project will replace some existing, aging buildings on the campus.
The new tower would be a 339,404-square-foot center with six floors of a children’s hospital topped by five floors of an adult hospital.
Baptist Medical Center has requested, and the City has agreed, to reserve certain development rights. Baptist Medical Center has agreed to make public improvements in return.
According to the summary, Baptist Medical Center presented conceptual plans to the commission’s Downtown Development Review Board in May 2008 and received conceptual approval.
According to the commission’s project summary, Baptist Medical Center doesn’t expect to hire additional employees but intends to maintain current employee levels.
The redevelopment agreement shows that the developer, Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida Inc., proposes to:
• Demolish an existing 84-bed nursing unit, known as the Southeast Unit, and the 161-bed, five-story east wing of the Main Building, which total about 80,000 square feet.
• In their place, build an 11-story, 237-bed hospital tower within Baptist Medical Center’s property on 17.7 acres owned by the developer.
The agreement states that no city funds will be required or appropriated for the City’s obligations under the agreement.
Southern Baptist Hospital promises to spend more than $3 million in public improvements. Before construction of the public improvements, the City and the Downtown Development Review Board will have received and approved the plans and the design specifications.
Southern Baptist Hospital will be solely responsible for construction and maintenance of the public improvements “consistent with a first-class office and retail facility,” the agreement says.
Exhibits to the agreement show that Southern Baptist Hospital will:
• Provide a street-scaping on Palm Avenue between Prudential Drive and Gary Street at an estimated cost of $100,000.
• Provide an off-site, 200-space employee parking lot at the Kings Avenue Parking Garage and develop and pay for a service to shuttle employees from the parking lot to the medical center, at an estimated annual operating cost of $69,500 for the lot and $25,000 for the shuttle service.
• Ensure hospital employee shift times are offset from rush hours by requiring a 7 a.m. shift start and 3 p.m. shift stop.
• Improve Prudential Drive to four travel lanes from the St. Johns River to Palm Avenue and not allow drop-off deliveries on that part of the road, at a capital cost estimated at $15,000.
• Remove the entrance drive on Palm Avenue to the hospital parking garage and combine a new entrance and exit at the center of the garage at an estimated cost of $3 million.
The new 11-story tower will consist of a first floor for pediatric imaging, dialysis and behavior health; a second floor for pediatric surgery and adult neurological surgery; a third floor for a pediatric cardiovascular intensive care unit; three floors for pediatric medical and surgical units; three floors of adult medical/surgical units; topped by the 10th floor for adult neurological intensive care and the 11th floor for a neurological clinic. A penthouse will house the elevator service and mechanical rooms.
Southern Hospital asks for a resolution from the commission supporting the redevelopment agreement and an associated allocation of development rights agreement, requests City Council to enact legislation approving the agreement and authorizing commission Executive Director Ron Barton to execute the resolution.
The commission also will consider a project for Eurofins Scientific Inc. of Iowa for a commercial micro-biology laboratory with Florida State College at Jacksonville. The lab would create 12 jobs at an average wage of $45,570. Eurofins requests a $102,000 Qualified Targeted Industry tax refund, of which $20,400 would come from the City and the rest from the State.
The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall in the fourth-floor large conference room.
356-2466