The emerging Health Village in downtown Orlando is transforming 172 acres of its current Florida Hospital surrounding area into a major health-care development and residential wellness destination. The village, a life-sciences cluster, is part of a 20-year master plan and will provide nearly 8,000 jobs when completed. It includes several hospitals and health clinics, a college campus, research institutes, multiple health and fitness centers, 550 apartments to house employees (with additional housing for residents seeking a health-based urban community) and retail stores and eateries. 
The Florida Hospital Health Village has about 7,000 employees, 600,000 square feet of medical office space and 800 additional hospital beds. Add in 100,000 square feet of general office space and more than 100,000 square feet of retail space, the Florida Hospital campus is shaping up to be not just a health development hot-spot, but also a health-conscious community to inspire what a “health village” can really be. With tenants that include a pharmacy and grocery store, the Health Village has plans for much more. The Ivy is a 248-unit, high-end apartment complex built in the heart of the community. To meet the need for mid-sized conferences in downtown Orlando, the Florida Hospital Health Village is exploring a partnership with a hotel and conference center.
Partnerships
The hospital’s campus is attracting several research and development partners with the vision and scope of the Health Village project. Among them, The Profil Institute of Clinical Research is using Florida Hospital’s facilities to investigate diabetes and obesity. Mazor Robotics is choosing the soon-to-be-constructed BioResearch Center, located in the Health Village, to enhance its spine surgery performance; the Israeli-based company has also decided Orlando will be its U.S. headquarters. To fill the $55 million, 150,000-square-foot BioResearch Center, Rick Wassel, executive director and general manager of Florida Hospital Health Village, cited the following targeted sectors: medical equipment, biotech, pharmaceutical, health-care information technology and life science. Along with cutting-edge medical developers Florida Hospital is housing top-tier physicians such as neurosurgeon Stephen Fields, who is paving the way for better surgical techniques to promote better recovery. He is stationed in the village’s Ginsberg Tower. It’s talent like his that compels other medical professionals and companies to get involved. The level of medical practice and talent located at Florida Hospital’s Health Village is set to make an impact and make Orlando a leading location for health-care development.
Transportation
Florida Hospital has also teamed up with SunRail and hosts a station at the heart of the Health Village campus. Launched in April, the commuter train connects employees and visitors to the area’s shops and restaurants. With less reliance on cars, the hospital hopes to clear up some of the nearby congested highways. And with the projected creation of thousands of jobs over the next 10-plus years, the hospital is conscious of the need for public transportation and is incorporating the commuter train into its progressive urban design.
. . .
Florida Hospital’s Health Village is leading the way for urban development while providing cutting-edge facilities to industry-leading physicians and medical research developers in hopes of becoming a national medical destination. With it comes job creation, economic stimulus and big business to the Orlando area.
According to David Banks, Florida Hospital’s chief strategy officer, in a media interview last year: “Health Village is not just about science. It’s a place to live, to work, eat and shop.”
When completed in 2024, the Health Village will bring $400 million in construction for its various projects. Just what the doctor ordered for economic development.