Skanska USA, one of the largest construction and development firms in the United States, has been chosen by the University of South Florida Health to build the Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute tower in Tampa’s urban waterfront district.
The project involves an 395,000 sq. ft. academic building with 13 floors. The tower will feature a 400-person auditorium, classrooms, study rooms for hands-on learning, and spaces for informal collaboration and gathering.
HOK designed the building, and construction began in August 2017. Expected completion will be in Fall 2019.
Relocating from the main campus at 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., the new building at South Meridian Ave. and Channelside Dr. aims to provide better accessibility to the community. It will also bring medical school students closer to the Tampa General Hospital which serves as USF Health’s primary training hospital, and the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation.
“The relocation of the Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute will create a long-term economic impact that will be felt throughout Tampa’s downtown,” said Brian Yarborough, Skanska’s project executive in Tampa. “The new school will grow the urban core’s population with students, researchers, and medical professionals who will study, work and live in the area.”
Yarborough also added that the project will help in retaining and attracting businesses and skilled workers in the biotech, medical and pharmaceutical fields to the Tampa Bay region.
Moreover, the building will be constructed on an acre of land donated to the university by Jeff Vinik, the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s team owner.
