Exactly one year since Health First broke ground on the new Cape Canaveral replacement hospital in Merritt Island, Florida, officials provided an onsite status update on the project.
Since the first ceremonial turn of dirt on “3-2-1 Day” in 2024 a lot has happened; the existing building on the premises has been demolished, land cleared, drainage systems installed, pilings driven, foundation laid and walls are now going up at a rapid pace.
The project includes a five-story hospital, three-story medical office building and a four-story parking garage. At 1 a.m. March 21, the final concrete pour began for the deck of the second floor of the hospital. To date 15,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured at the site. In a typical day, there are approximately 100 people working on the site; that number is expected to reach 400-500 people at the peak of construction this summer.
The majority of work this year will be centered around building the foundations, walls and other concrete structures for all buildings.
“Dry in” for the hospital is expected by early January 2026. This means the structure becomes water-tight, and construction teams will begin building out the interior portions of the project. Construction is slated to finish by the end of 2026 and the hospital will officially open to the public in early 2027.
The new 268,000-square-foot Cape Canaveral Hospital will include:
- 120 private inpatient beds
- 25 emergency department treatment rooms
- 6 operating rooms.
The hospital was designed for and will be built to withstand a Category 4 hurricane. Continuation of care and the potential for evacuation will be evaluated for individual storms, in consultation with state officials. Additionally, the entire campus site will be constructed 13 feet above sea level to withstand storm surge. The campus will be served by an on-site central energy plant, built to ensure continuous power function even during tropical storms and hurricanes. The project team includes Gilbane, Lawrence Group, Concord Group and BCER.
