The status of the Wellen Park hospital site has been a hot topic. North Port waited over six decades to get its first hospital, but Wellen Park is likely on a faster track. Still, it’s been a year since Sarasota Memorial Health System (SMH) chose the Sumter Boulevard location for its new hospital, and people are wondering: what about those 28 acres in Wellen Park that didn’t make the cut?
SMH continues to prioritize Wellen Park for its plans in south Sarasota County, even though the selection committee excluded it.
SMH actually picked up the property at 7900 S. Tamiami Trail back in 2015, thanks to a land swap with the developer. The land sits just north of West Villages Parkway, in the heart of Wellen Park’s future growth. But as for when they’ll decide what to do with it? No one’s giving a timeline yet. Kim Savage, who speaks for the hospital, said the board will talk about budgeting and strategic planning this late spring and early summer. That’s when they’ll figure out what to do with all their properties, including Wellen Park.
Meanwhile, the big action is over at Sumter. Construction’s moving forward on the $507 million hospital project. Work started in December with utilities and stormwater, and by last month, the crew was prepping for heavy-duty nighttime concrete pours, sometimes up to 35 cement trucks rolling in for a single shift.
Upon completion, the nine-story hospital will open with 100 beds and three extra floors for growth, enough to easily expand to 208 beds and, eventually, up to 400 beds as the area needs more. That’s a lot of capacity. And with all that room to grow at Sumter, nobody expects SMH to rush their plans for Wellen Park. Realistically, it could be years before anything big happens there.
Wellen Park’s developers still see a future for the site. Their official word? The property is ready and zoned for hospital and medical office use, matching the community’s long-term healthcare plans. They made it clear: even though SMH hasn’t picked a date, they still continue to move ahead with the project.
Other healthcare providers continue to expand nearby. Exalt Health will open a rehab hospital soon, and HCA Healthcare’s working on a new medical office along U.S. 41. Momentum is building and investors see opportunity, as more people flood into Wellen Park.
So why did SMH pick Sumter instead? The board decided in January 2025 after a staff study gave it the edge. It’s by I-75, serves an area with fewer hospitals, and draws less from their Venice campus. Plus, SMH already dominates the market in Wellen Park; therefore, they did not consider adding another hospital there a huge win. Still, they acknowledge that if competition arrives, say, AdventHealth or HCA Florida, things could change.
Right now, about 10,000 people live in Wellen Park, but full build out could mean 50,000 to 60,000. That’s going to take decades, and North Port’s already closing in on 100,000 residents for comparison.
There’s more growth on the horizon, too. Winchester Ranch at Wellen Park might add another 9,000 homes if developers and county commissioners can hash out their differences.
Meanwhile, hospital groups aren’t standing still. HCA Florida opened a stand-alone ER last year, right on S. Tamiami Trail, and SMH has two urgent care centers just up the road in Venice. There’s no shortage of healthcare options moving in as the region grows. It’s simply a matter of time when Wellen Park gets its own full-fledged hospital.
