AdventHealth's Punta Gorda hospital campus clears parking vote, with council still to decide

Editorial graphic by Punta Gorda Community Website. Illustrative blurred community background: Wesley Chapel, Florida (August 2024), LittleT889 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Photo source · License

Punta Gorda's Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend that the city approve parking variances for AdventHealth's planned hospital campus at 26072 Glasgow Ave., at Jones Loop Road near U.S. 41, advancing the first phase of the project. The recommendation is not the final word: the Sun reported that the City Council will determine whether the variance request is approved.

The 17.46-acre campus has already received city approval, according to Gulfshore Business; the pending request deals only with how much parking the site may build and where it may go. Groundbreaking is expected in November.

AdventHealth's phased Punta Gorda campus

Component	Size	Beds
Emergency department (first phase)	22,500 sq ft when expanded	12 beds, expanding to 24
Hospital	Four stories, 200,000 sq ft	80 beds
Medical office building	Two stories, 30,000 sq ft	—

Source: gulfshorebusiness.com

What the parking fight is about

AdventHealth asked for a maximum of one paved space per 150 square feet of emergency department floor area, six paved spaces per hospital bed, and one space per 150 square feet of medical office building. Zoning official Rachel Barry said city code otherwise would allow 1.2 spaces per bed for the emergency department and require one space per 400 square feet for medical office use. The health system also wants permission to place parking beyond the front facade of its buildings, which city code generally prohibits.

The board had initially declined the request because AdventHealth submitted maximum parking counts rather than the minimum, and Florida statute requires a variance to be the minimum modification to a land development regulation. Engineer George Huddleston of Catalyst Design Group told the board the applicant was "trying to establish the minimum upper-bound limit of the parking range that can be provided for the hospital campus." The revised numbers are a 7.5% reduction from the 898 spaces originally sought.

What would be built, and when

The campus is planned in phases. AdventHealth, which announced the project in September 2025, says the Jones Loop Road facility will provide 24/7 emergency care and will be overseen by AdventHealth Port Charlotte. The system has said it continues to explore options for the Punta Gorda hospital that closed. AdventHealth paid $6 million for the property, according to Compass Real Estate.

Attorney Derek Rooney of GrayRobinson, speaking for AdventHealth, said the company is working toward completing the emergency department in the third quarter of 2027 but that the date may shift. "Steel has become a short supply and expensive because of data center building around the country," he said.

Why it matters locally

ShorePoint Health Punta Gorda closed permanently after extensive flooding from hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, ending a run of hospital care in the city dating to 1947. WINK News reported the old hospital remains closed and that residents have driven to Sarasota or Fort Myers for care.

At the hearing, resident Bob Sifrit told the board the gap is a safety problem: "We desperately need an emergency department and hospital south of the river, especially during wind events over 45 mph when our emergency vehicles won't travel over that bridge." The city, through Assistant City Manager Michael Bonasera, called the step a meaningful milestone.