The city of Jacksonville is reviewing a building-permit application for construction work on the Leon L. Haley, Jr., MD Emergency Department & Trauma Center at UF Health at an estimated project cost of almost $57 million.
UF Health Jacksonville broke ground Nov. 21, 2024, on the facility at the campus at 655 W. Eighth St.
The project summary for the permit in review is a one-story, 42,000-square-foot addition and a 42,120-square-foot alteration.
The center is named after the former CEO and dean of the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville who was known to have pushed to expand the region’s only Level One facility.
Haley died in July 2021 from injuries sustained after being ejected from a personal watercraft in Palm Beach Inlet. He was 56 years old. “The University of Florida and UF Health want you to know that we have audacious ambitions when it comes to delivering high-quality, leading-edge care to the people in our communities. Only the very best care is good enough,” said Mori Hosseini, chair of the UF Board of Trustees, in a news release Nov. 21.
The facility is being built with $80 million from the state and $10 million from the city.
The project will be built in five phases.
In November, UF Health said the first phase will increase the number of emergency and trauma rooms from 78 to 125. It said it would expand the existing facility by 35,000 square feet, which is larger now on the plans, to include 53 new beds along with new adult and pediatric waiting areas. It is expected to take 18 months to complete.
In phases two through five, the existing 41,500-square-foot emergency room – shown as 42,120 square feet on the plans – will be renovated and will include new diagnostic equipment, a new radiology section and behavioral health space.
“This initiative is reflective of the continual commitment of UF Health’s expert health care providers to offering the highest-caliber care, with compassion, to all our patients,” said Dr. Stephen J. Motew, president and system CEO of UF Health’s clinical enterprise, in the release.
Stellar Group Inc. of Jacksonville is listed as the contractor.
HKS Architects Inc. of Orlando is the architect. Walker Architects of Gainesville is the associate architect. Prosser | Prime AE of Jacksonville is the civil engineer.