New details on Moffitt Cancer Center's Speros FL campus revealed
By Henry Queen
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Oct 26, 2023

Moffitt Cancer Center has released new details on its ongoing project in Pasco County.

The 140 buildings planned for the site on Ridge Road will be clustered into five different “neighborhoods,” according to the Speros FL master plan. The largest such neighborhood, totaling 4.6 million square feet, will be on the site's east side; most of it will be dedicated to office and lab space. Another 193,800 square feet will be set aside for a partner hospital. Moffitt has previously expressed interest in teaming up with AdventHealth, BayCare, Tampa General Hospital or another local hospital.

A Moffitt representative noted that the plans are subject to change. The first phase of construction isn’t expected to be finished until 2028; workers are currently paving a new road into the campus.

“Our vision of becoming the global epicenter for personalized oncology care and leading research is taking shape,” Speros FL President David de la Parte said in a statement. “We are one step closer to revolutionizing the way we detect, prevent and treat cancer and more importantly, providing even more hope to those patients and families facing cancer. Although this master plan will evolve as needs and opportunities arise, it provides a footprint for Speros FL to serve as a hub to address a spectrum of maladies and groundbreaking therapies along the continuum of care as well as build a precedent-setting ecosystem for our region and state.”

Plans to raise $200 million in bonds, some of which will cover an ambulatory center at the Pasco County campus, were approved in August.

About 500 of the 775 acres of Speros FL will be developed. Over 6.9 million square feet are labeled for office space — an ambitious goal. By comparison, the office space in downtown Tampa’s central business district also totals 6.9 million square feet, according to CBRE Group Inc.

Other buildings at the Speros campus will be dedicated to light manufacturing, research, clinical labs and amenities. The first 75 acres of development, named the W.E. Simpson Concourse for Cures, will include a proton therapy unit and an ambulatory center. The project broke ground in January.

Moffitt, which will celebrate its 37th anniversary on Friday, hopes to take advantage of a new STEM middle and high school that opened in August near Speros FL to help staff its future campus. Approximately 14,000 team members will be needed on the campus at project completion; finding those workers could be a challenge.

More details on the project can be found on a new website dedicated to Speros.