Despite concerns raised by residents of a neighboring condominium development, a county advisory board this week approved zoning changes and variances that would allow Health First to build a new hospital and "wellness village" on Merritt Island.

The unanimous approval Monday from the Brevard County Planning and Zoning Board follows a similar unanimous vote on April 28 from the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency. Health First's proposal now goes to the Brevard County Commission for a potential final vote on May 26.

Health First wants to build a seven-story, 120-bed hospital with an adjoining medical office building and "wellness village" on a 15.05-acre site, across State Road 520 from Merritt Square Mall. The $508 million complex would replace the current six-story, 150-bed Cape Canaveral Hospital off State Road 520 in Cocoa Beach, which would close when the new hospital opens.

All the rooms in the new hospital would be private, in contrast with the current Cape Canaveral Hospital, where the majority of the rooms are semiprivate — designed for two patients.

Among the components of the health village will be a fitness center, a spa, an education center for health and wellness education, a concierge tower, a child care center, a restaurant, a coffee ship, a market/juice bar and retail space.

Proponents of the project see it as creating a "downtown" feel for that section of Merritt island, in conjunction with the mall and the nearby Brevard Veterans Memorial Center.

But 95 residents of the Harbor Del Rio condominium community signed a petition that was submitted to the Planning and Zoning Board, citing concerns about increased traffic and noise generated by the project.

They were not necessarily opposed to the hospital project, but indicated in the petition that "we feel we need to be represented in the planning to make sure these concerns are adequately addressed."

In addition, three residents spoke during the public comment period at Monday's hearing to emphasize their concerns, which also included drainage and the impact of the project on a nearby bird rookery.

Health First officials said all the issues will be addressed, and they plan to meet soon with residents of the condo community to further discuss their concerns.

Traffic, noise, lighting, drainage, flooding mitigation procedures and other issues will be resolved during an extensive administrative review process with Brevard County staff before construction can begin, according to Kim Rezanka, a land-use attorney who represented Health First before the Planning and Zoning Board.

"We're going to do what the county requires," Rezanka said.

Planning Board members were generally impressed with Health First's project and its presentation.

"This is a game-changer for Merritt Island," Planning Board member Liz Alward said just before making the motion to approve Health First's requests. "This, to me, is a win-win for Merritt Island."

Planning Board member Bruce Moia told Health First representatives that "I think you've done a great job. I don't see any negative issues with this."

Merritt Island's new downtown: Health First hospital could be biggest transformation project in central Brevard in decades

What's included: New details on Health First's planned Merritt Island hospital, 'wellness village'

Other board members commended Health First for taking into account hurricane dangers in designing the project. For example, the hospital will be built 13 feet above ground level to protect against storm surge. And the medical office building and wellness village will be built above a two-level parking garage for the same reason.

The hospital is being designed to withstand a Category 4 hurricane, and would remain open during a storm. That's in contrast with the current Cape Canaveral Hospital, which has had to be evacuated during a number of storms in the past, with patients moved to hospitals on the mainland.

But, in an email to the Planning Board, Harbor Del Rio resident Sherry Randolph expressed a number of concerns.

Randolph said she fears the hospital's project could affect residents there, noting: "We reside in a quiet neighborhood, and enjoy nature and wildlife in the surrounding area. The primary areas of concern for this development are noise, traffic, the environment and potential expansion."

Jonathan Flyte, Health First's system vice president for facilities construction and real estate, said the company wants a quiet and "restful" environment, too, for the patients and visitors to the hospital and wellness village.

He said ambulance sirens will be turned off when the ambulance is within 300 yards of the hospital; the complex's central utility plant will operate quietly; and there will be minimal takeoffs and landings of Health First's medical helicopter — likely an average of fewer than one a day.

Rezanka said the Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency and Brevard County Planning and Zoning Board approvals came after two years of work in designing the project.

The proposal next will be considered and voted on by the County Commission — expected to be the last step in front of a governmental board, unless Health First significantly changes its plan.

As it did with the two advisory boards that OK'd the project, Health First will ask county commissioners to approve changing the zoning of the site to be what's known as a "planned unit development." The property now has a combination of general retail commercial zoning and retail/warehousing/wholesale commercial zoning. The planned unit development designation allows for greater flexibility in developing a large project like this.

Health First also will seek 19 waivers from county code for the project, including ones related to building height, setbacks, distance between structures and requirements for its heliport on top of the hospital building.

The project is expected to generate about 800 construction jobs while the facilities are being built. Construction is likely to begin in the first quarter of 2023, with completion in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Matthew Gerrell, Health First's chief executive officer for retail services, said the new hospital and wellness village will have more than 1,000 employees, up from about 600 at the current Cape Canaveral Hospital and adjacent medical office building in Cocoa Beach. The 1,000-plus employee count would include staff of the fitness center, food establishments and retailers, which Health First expects will largely be run by entities other than Health First.

Planning Board member Henry Minneboo said, in general, Merritt Island residents are "extremely excited" about the project, adding that Health First did a "tremendous job" in putting the concept together.

Ben Glover, another Planning Board member, said: "If Health First is involved, this will be beautiful. I'm definitely in support of it."

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman.

Support local journalism and journalists like me. Subscribe today.

What Health First's project includes

These are the component's of the planned Health First hospital and wellness village on Merritt Island:

• A seven-story, 320,000-square-foot hospital. The hospital pad will be elevated to provide protection from potential storm surge.

• A 21,500-square-foot central utility plant containing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, as well as emergency generators.

• 120,000 square feet of medical offices.

• A 2,800-square-foot spa.

• A 7,500-square-foot child day care center.

• A 5,700-square-foot restaurant.

• A 19,100-square-foot education center for health and wellness education.

• A 2,900-square-foot coffee shop.

• A 2,000-square-foot market/juice bar.

• 5,800 square feet of mixed-use retail space.

• A 700-square-foot concierge tower.

• A 20,000-square-foot fitness center.

• Two stories of enclosed parking, plus surface parking lots, totaling 947 spaces.

• A helipad to handle helicopter landings and takeoffs for the transport of patients with serious medical conditions to the hospital's emergency department or from there to another hospital.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Health First Merritt Island hospital approved by Brevard zoning board