Big health system buys Seminole Heights Baptist Church's real estate for freestanding ER
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Nov 2, 2020

One of the largest hospital systems in the U.S. has made a multimillion-dollar property purchase in Seminole Heights, with plans to build a freestanding emergency room on the site.

A corporate entity linked to Nashville-based HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) paid $6.9 million for three parcels owned by Seminole Heights Baptist Church, according to Hillsborough County property records. The purchase includes the church property — 3.45 acres, including a small storage shed and parking at 801 E. Hillsborough Ave. — as well as the manse at 308 E. Emma St.

The church occupies prime real estate for an emergency room, situated at the intersection of East Hillsborough Avenue and Interstate 275. In rapidly gentrifying Seminole Heights, that much contiguous acreage is difficult to find.

The sale closed Wednesday, according to property records. The Winter Park office of Catalyst Design Group, a Nashville architecture firm, filed plans for the freestanding ER with the city in mid-October. Floor plans show multiple types of exam rooms, a trauma and resuscitation suite, laboratory and on-site pharmacy.

In June, members of the Seminole Heights neighborhood fought to receive a historic landmark designation for the church to prevent it from being demolished. The church pastor told ABC Action News that the designation could hurt the congregation's ability to sell the property.

HCA's West Florida division includes 15 hospitals, spanning from Port Charlotte to Inverness. A spokesperson for the health system was not immediately available for comment Monday.