Sarasota Memorial Buys 120 Acres For Manatee County Expansion

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is planning for future growth in Manatee County with the purchase of about 120 acres along the State Road 64 corridor, according to a news release.

The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board approved the nearly $60 million land purchase on Tuesday.

The property is east of Interstate 75 and is intended to provide space for a future Sarasota Memorial campus serving the growing communities of northern Manatee County.

The deal is contingent on Sarasota Memorial working with Manatee County officials and community leaders to rezone and develop the property, the health care system said.

The health system also received approval in July to acquire a 10-acre parcel adjacent to the larger property with direct access to State Road 64.

The first phase of a potential Manatee County campus would include a freestanding emergency department on the 10-acre parcel, pending local government and site-development approvals.

Future phases could include primary and specialty physician practices, pediatric specialty care, imaging, diagnostic and laboratory services, and other medical facilities, Sarasota Memorial said.

“This investment reflects the kind of long-range planning that has allowed Sarasota Memorial to serve our region for more than a century,” David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, said in a statement.

Securing the property now will allow the health system to plan for increased demand as the region grows, he added.

The four-county area served by Sarasota Memorial — Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties — is expected to grow from about 1.2 million residents today to nearly 1.8 million over the next 25 years, according to Sarasota Memorial.

Manatee County is projected to account for much of that growth. Sarasota Memorial estimates the county's population will increase 9.6 percent over the next five years, with significant growth expected around Parrish, Palmetto and Lakewood Ranch.

The health care system said the expansion is also being driven by current demand.

More than 185,000 Manatee County residents received care through Sarasota Memorial in 2025, accounting for about one-quarter of the system's overall patient volume. Patient volume at Sarasota Memorial's existing outpatient facility in Heritage Harbour has more than doubled since 2020.

Expanding its presence in Manatee County could help reduce the number of patients traveling to its Sarasota campus for routine, emergency and specialty services that could be provided closer to home, the health care system said.

The planned expansion could help ease capacity pressures at its flagship Sarasota hospital, where beds, emergency services, parking and other resources are frequently operating at or near capacity.

It could also bring additional employment opportunities to Manatee County, which is home to nearly 3,500 Sarasota Memorial employees, about 30 percent of its workforce.

“County boundaries do not define where patients seek care or where healthcare professionals choose to live and work,” Verinder said. “Our responsibility is to plan for the communities we already serve today and the communities we know will continue to grow tomorrow.”

The health system has previously purchased property along the I-75 corridor ahead of major growth.

Sarasota Memorial acquired its Laurel Road property in 2005 before opening Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice in 2021. It purchased property on Sumter Boulevard in North Port in 2007, laying the groundwork for Sarasota Memorial Hospital-North Port, which is under construction and expected to open in 2028.

The Manatee County purchase similarly positions Sarasota Memorial to serve future residents in the northern portion of its service area.

The proposed Manatee County expansion would be funded through Sarasota Memorial's operating revenue. The health care system’s facilities outside Sarasota County are designed to be financially self-sustaining.