Roughly 120 acres along Manatee County’s State Road 64 corridor could eventually become a full-service hospital campus under a nearly $60 million land deal Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is working to complete.
The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board approved the acquisition Tuesday for property just east of Interstate 75, extending Sarasota Memorial’s footprint into a part of Manatee County where it already draws a significant share of its patients and workforce. Manatee residents accounted for more than 185,000 Sarasota Memorial patients in 2025, roughly 25% of the health system’s overall volume, while about 3,500 of its employees — roughly 30% of its workforce — live in the county.
Demand is already growing at Sarasota Memorial’s existing Manatee County facilities. Patient volume at its Heritage Harbour outpatient facility has more than doubled since 2020, while the health system says beds, emergency services, parking and other resources at its flagship Sarasota hospital frequently operate at or near capacity.
The 120 acres would sit alongside a 10-acre parcel the board approved acquiring in July, where Sarasota Memorial plans to build a freestanding emergency department first. Later phases could bring primary and specialty physician practices, pediatric specialty care, imaging, diagnostic and laboratory services and other medical buildings before eventually developing into a full-service hospital campus.
Development would occur in phases and remain subject to local, regional and state approvals. The nearly $60 million acquisition itself remains contingent on Sarasota Memorial working with Manatee County officials and community leaders to rezone and develop the property.
Sarasota Memorial has used the same long runway for hospital development farther south. The health system bought its Laurel Road property in 2005 before opening Sarasota Memorial Hospital-Venice in 2021 and acquired its Sumter Boulevard property in 2007, where Sarasota Memorial Hospital-North Port is now under construction and expected to open in 2028.
The Manatee site would push that expansion north as the county continues to grow. Sarasota Memorial projects Manatee will lead population growth across its four-county service area — Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto — with 9.6% growth over the next five years, concentrated around the State Road 64 corridor and communities including Parrish, Palmetto and Lakewood Ranch.