October 29, 2021 – Lee Health’s board of directors approved plans to move forward in planning a new hospital campus in the City of Fort Myers. Tentatively known as “Lee Health Colonial Campus,” the property will sit on 52 acres of land along Challenger Blvd. between Colonial Blvd. and Winkler Ave.
The board of directors has initiated a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for architectural services, construction management and commissioning authorities as a first step in developing the hospital campus. The RFQ process identifies well-qualified firms that wish to work with Lee Health to undertake this project.
Lee Health says it expects the campus to include an acute care hospital with 216 beds, 16 operating rooms, an emergency department (ED) with 30 emergency room bays, and a 16-bed observation unit.
The campus will also house a complement of ancillary and social services and a Medical Office Building. Lee Health’s data center will move to the new campus.
The permitting process for the new, state-of-the-art campus is expected to take about two years. After that, the build timeline is estimated to take an additional three years. The anticipated opening date of the campus is 2027.