The Fort Pierce City Commission approved a major site plan application last week giving the go-ahead for HCA Florida Lawnwood Medical Center – the Treasure Coast’s only Level II trauma center – to construct a five-floor parking garage by the hospital.
“I think anybody that has been to the hospital to see somebody knows that you need a parking garage. We’re very happy for you,” said Fort Pierce Mayor Linda Hudson.
“The parking situation there is extreme, so the commitment of the organization to dedicate this type of solution and investment into the Fort Pierce community, I applaud you guys for doing this,” said Commissioner Michael Broderick.
The commission unanimously approved the site plan which included three conditions related to landscaping.
The garage site consists of about 3.5 acres of the entire 22-acre site, and will contain 591 parking spaces with 10 dedicated for electric vehicles. It will be built on an existing surface parking lot at 1700 South 23rd St. in Fort Pierce. The elevator and stairway area will reach 58 feet, 6 inches and contain three elevators.
The structure will have an approximately 50,400-square-foot footprint and surface parking grossing 34,866 square feet. “The aesthetics will match the newer patient tower located on the campus,” said Senior Planner Vennis Gilmore, who presented the plan to the commission.
“I think it’s going to do a great job brightening the corner based on the landscape,” said Commissioner Curtis Johnson Jr.
The structure is the fifth and final subphase of a plan approved in December 2020 that included rezoning the hospital property to a Planned Development (PD).
“The parking garage was a critical component to be able to continue growing,” said Alex Masmela, HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital’s chief operating officer.
The cost of the project is approximately $26 million.
“We opened 62 beds last year and we are still holding today in the emergency room,” Masmela said, adding that another 32 beds will be ready next year and confirming that the parking situation had to be addressed before additional expansion could be considered.
Among concerns addressed in the plan was a possible fire hazard due to the EV spaces included in the project. “We did coordinate with the fire department prior to submitting and they requested that the EV spaces be placed outside the parking garage to avoid any kind of fire hazard,” said Project Manager Vanessa Mahoney P.E. of Kimley Horn.
Safety was also addressed. The garage will be outfitted with “tons of cameras that are actively monitored” and panic buttons and security for safety at night. It will be used for employee parking so that those visiting family members and loved ones will be closer to the hospital.
As to parking during the construction period, the hospital is in the process of purchasing a nearby 8-acre site that will be used for temporary parking for construction workers and for employees.