Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital has started a $62 million expansion project in St. Petersburg — and continues looking north as groundbreaking on a new hospital in Pasco County gets closer.
Construction is underway on a 28,000-square-foot upgrade to the St. Petersburg campus. It's expected to increase patient capacity, expand the Emergency Center and relocate critical equipment.
It’s expected to wrap up by fall 2026.
The expansion includes four of the hospital’s largest operating rooms, which are designed for advanced neurosurgery and orthopedic needs.
“Our operating rooms often run at close to capacity,” said Justin Olsen, vice president and chief operating officer of Johns Hopkins All Children’s. “These additional ORs will expand patient access and accommodate increasingly complex procedures.”
The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports upgrades also include a third MRI machine, new emergency exam rooms, relocation of an interventional radiology lab, and a relocated blood bank and stat lab that can work during hurricane outages.
ALSO READ: All Children’s invests $34 million to storm-harden campus
The project complements a $33.7 million storm-hardening effort. The hospital sustained $1.5 million in damage last year from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Olsen said the hospital's facilities have been greatly impacted by recent storms and recognized it could use the project to correct certain parts of the infrastructure.
“One really important item is our steam line,” Olsen said. “The steam is what we use to heat our building, heat our water and to sterilize all of our equipment, so it's a critical infrastructure element that we couldn't operate without.”
Johns Hopkins is also expanding its behavioral health and rehabilitation offerings in St. Pete to meet demand.
At the same time, the hospital is breaking ground 50 miles north with plans for a second full-service hospital in Wesley Chapel.
The 112-acre site near Interstate 75 and Overpass Road will feature a 56-bed pediatric hospital, 16-room Emergency Center, four imaging rooms, four operating rooms and support services.
ALSO READ: All Children's to build a pediatric hospital in Wesley Chapel
“There is a profound need for specialized pediatric care in this growing community,” Olsen said. “We will be their children’s hospital.”
Olsen added construction in Wesley Chapel began this year and was expected to be completed by 2027. Specialty care services like cardiology, endocrinology and general surgery have already begun in nearby leased space.
All expansion projects and hospital locations are funded through hospital equity and philanthropy.
WUSF receives financial support from Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
