HCA Healthcare might build a free-standing ER in Horizon West down the road from the Orlando Health Horizon West Hospital.
Catalyst Design Group, on behalf of property owner Boyd Development Corporation, recently filed plans with Orange County for a 10,860-square-foot free-standing ER with 36 parking spaces on 1.5 acres at the northwest corner of Avalon Road and New Independence Parkway. The project could move forward without a rezoning, as the current zoning of P-D and the existing future land use of Village allows for a medical clinic. The applicant team is scheduled to hold a pre-application meeting with county planning staff on Wednesday to discuss the plans.
The ER would be located directly south of an ABC Fine Wine & Spirits store. The retailer, which filed plans with Orange County earlier this year for a 10,980-square-foot store, paid Boyd Development Corporation $2.5 million for the 1.05-acre property in 2023.
The new Horizon West ER is planned for a rapidly growing section of Horizon West near Lake County and Wellness Way that continues to attract more medical facilities due to strong population growth and the presence of the nearby Orlando Health Horizon West Hospital, which opened its doors in 2021. The six-story, 214,000-square-foot hospital has 120 hospital beds and a 78,000-square-foot emergency department.
Additionally, the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine (OCOM) opened last year at 7011 Kiran Patal Dr., next to the Orlando Health campus. The 144,000-square-foot school, designed by Baker Barrios, has a clinical training lab, classrooms, and administrative space and offices. There is also an adjacent 20-acre parcel reserved for an additional medical campus with approvals for 177,800 square feet of commercial space. The 2024-2025 class at OCOM had 97 students, but the college anticipates that it will grow to 720 students at full enrollment.
HCA Healthcare has plans for a pair of other ER facilities in western Orange County. The company broke ground last year on another free-standing ER in Winter Garden, which will be called HCA West Orange Emergency. The $16 million, 11,570-square-foot facility is expected to employ 35 full-time healthcare workers once it opens at the end of the summer at 1320 Daniels Rd. Another ER is approved in downtown Orlando on W. Colonial Drive and I-4.
The healthcare provider also broke ground in April on the $15 million, 11,000-square-foot HCA Florida Wekiwa Emergency on 2.15 acres at 2757 W. Orange Blossom Trail. The free-standing ER, which is set to open in late 2025, will have an on-site laboratory and imaging services such as digital X-ray, computed tomography (CT) scan.
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