Orlando Health plans 200K sf office development in SoDo district

Orlando Health is on the brink of a major expansion in the trendy SoDo business district. 

The company wants to construct a 200,000-square-foot corporate office building, at 1227 South Division Avenue, near its main campus in the area south of downtown, the Orlando Sentinel reported. 

Orlando Health’s real estate team, along with planning firm GAI Consultants, discussed the project with city officials in December.

Orlando Health bought the parcel in 2018 for $1.6 million from AT&T, which previously used it for a small office and warehouse. The company also purchased the adjacent warehouse at 1309 South Division Avenue, upping the property’s size to 3.68 acres.

The planned office building could rise 10 stories or higher, the outlet said. 

While the recent meeting hints that construction is on the horizon, Orlando Health spokeswoman Kena Lewis said it was standard procedure.

“Orlando Health continually reviews our real estate portfolio and land use regulations governing same,” she told the outlet. “The meeting to which you’re referring was a part of the normal review process for the downtown Orlando campus to ensure we are able to meet the community’s future healthcare needs.”

The project’s scale is similar to the office portion of Lincoln Property Company’s forthcoming 32-story tower called the Edge, the outlet said. The Orlando Magic Sports + Entertainment District is also set to include 200,000 square feet of Class A office space.

Orlando Health, operates 16 hospitals and nine freestanding emergency rooms and is poised for further expansion. Plans include the addition of three hospitals in Lake Mary, Lakeland and Wesley Chapel, along with another emergency room. 

Furthermore, Orlando Health recently opened a medical pavilion at Randal Park and has filed plans for a 6-story, 189,000-square-foot children’s pavilion across the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in SoDo, the outlet said.

—Quinn Donoghue