Medical office building planned for Wellen Park in south Sarasota County
NORTH PORT – CASTO Healthcare Real Estate is expected to break ground by the end of this year on a planned 75,000-square-foot medical office building just west of the U.S. 41 and River Road intersection.
CASTO, a Sarasota-based company, will both develop and manage the three-story facility.
According to a news release, The Medical Center at Wellen Park “will provide multidisciplinary medical suites for physicians, specialists and healthcare professionals with custom-designed spaces for in-office procedures and outpatient services.”
The office office is part of a health care-related building boom in south Sarasota County.
A third-generation family-owned company, CASTO was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1926 and has had a residential and commercial real estate presence in Florida since 1995.
It branched into the medical office field five years ago.
In addition to the new facility, CASTO is leasing Class A medical office space at two other locations in the region – Center Point Medical Center in University Park, and Pinebrook Medical Office in Venice.
“Access to quality healthcare close to home is essential for the good health and wellness of our residents,” Rick Severance, president of Mattamy Homes’ Wellen Park Division, said in the same statement. “We’re pleased to partner with CASTO in meeting the future medical needs of our growing community and region.
“By attracting local physicians and medical professionals who have visiting privileges at our nearby hospitals, the medical center adds another layer of comprehensive healthcare. It enhances the choices available to patients in office or at a nearby local hospital with minimal travel time.”
The Medical Center at Wellen Park will offer office spaces ranging from 1,500 to 25,000 square feet and 409 dedicated parking spaces.
With an estimated build time of 12 to 18 months, the medical center could open in early to mid-2025.
Aaron Ruben, executive vice president of CASTO’s southeast operations and the leasing agent for the Wellen Park center, said in a prepared statement that Wellen Prak offers a great location for medical professionals and the community’s growth will “appeal to doctors seeking to establish or expand a successful practice.”
“As a Class A medical facility, the building will be state-of-the-art and dedicated solely for healthcare professionals. Each medical office will be tailored to meet the needs of the practice,” he added.
CASTO’s two other medical office buildings are both close to regional hospitals. Center Point Medical is near Lakewood Ranch Medical Center and Pinebrook Medical is near Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s Venice campus.
According to the company web site, CASTO has partnered with Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, its parent company Universal Health Services; Fresenius Kidney Care; BioSpine Institute; Regional Diagnostic Radiology; and Manatee Physicians Alliance; among others.
While North Port does not yet have a hospital, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is in a due diligence phase of plans to build an acute care hospital on 32 acres it owns off of the Sumter Boulevard Exit off of Interstate 75.
SMH also owns a 27.8-acre site at the southwest corner of U.S. 41 and West Villages Parkway near the State College of Florida Venice campus and operates a free-standing emergency room at Bobcat Village off of Toledo Blade Boulevard.
HCA Florida Healthcare opened a medical office in the West Villages Shopping Center last April and HCA Florida Englewood Hospital closed on the purchase of almost 30 acres in Wellen Park in May and plans to open a free-standing emergency room.
Hospital officials hinted that it could expand that to a hospital as well.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: More medical offices planned for Wellen Park area of North Port
