Skanska Tops Out Phase One Of Lee Health’s New Hospital Campus In Fort Myers

Skanska USA has topped out Phase One of Lee Health’s new hospital campus in Fort Myers, marking a major construction milestone for the health system’s forthcoming expansion in Southwest Florida. The project is being built for Lee Health and designed by Flad Architects, with the broader 52-acre campus set to include a five-story hospital totaling approximately 400,000 square feet of healthcare and office space, a 122,000-square-foot medical office building, and an ambulatory surgery center that will serve as the home of the Lee Health Musculoskeletal Institute. The completed campus is scheduled to open in 2028.

A topping out ceremony was held this week at the project site to commemorate the milestone for the hospital and medical office building, which are intended to expand access to advanced medical services across Lee County as population growth continues throughout Southwest Florida.

Lee Health Fort Myers Campus topping out. Credit: Lee Health.

Phase One of the development will include 18 operating rooms, 168 patient rooms including 24 ICU beds, and 44 emergency department beds. The hospital will also include a central energy plant designed to ensure efficient and uninterrupted power supply for advanced medical equipment and around-the-clock patient care operations.

“The topping out of Phase 1 at our Fort Myers campus marks a significant moment in bringing this vision to life,” said Larry Antonucci, M.D., President and CEO of Lee Health. “Each beam placed represents our commitment to building a stronger future for healthcare in Southwest Florida that expands access, supports our care teams, and ensures patients receive exceptional care for generations to come.”

Lee Health Fort Myers Campus topping out. Credit: Lee Health.

Construction has advanced at a substantial scale. According to Skanska, the firm and its 56 trade partners have logged more than 720,000 work hours to date, with approximately 700 workers on-site each day. The team has also poured more than 33,000 cubic yards of concrete and installed over 12 miles, or 64,510 feet, of medical gas piping as work continues on the campus.

“Reaching this milestone underscores the extraordinary teamwork and dedication of the many local, small businesses who are helping to bolster the local economy as we drive this innovative healthcare project forward,” said Bob Kramer, Vice President and Account Manager for Skanska’s Florida building operations. “We’re proud to be Lee Health’s trusted partner on this journey to raise the bar on exceptional patient care in the heart of Southwest Florida.”

The project incorporates a range of resiliency and sustainability features intended to maintain continuous healthcare operations during severe weather events and utility disruptions. Among them is an emergency makeup water well, described as the first of its kind for a Lee Health facility, which will help keep air conditioning systems functional during municipal water interruptions. Additional resiliency measures include redundant power systems, dual-fuel generators, and a reinforced building envelope engineered to withstand winds up to 150 miles per hour. The site has also been elevated beyond 100-year flood projections, with an additional foot added to strengthen flood protection and help safeguard uninterrupted patient care.

Skanska says the Fort Myers campus is part of its broader healthcare construction work across Florida, where the firm is currently leading multiple greenfield, renovation, and expansion projects in Central and South Florida.

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