Holiday Park is officially a construction zone, as dozens of concrete trucks and mixers rolled in this week to pour the first foundation for a joint YMCA Family Center and Broward Health freestanding emergency room. Organizers have billed the pairing as the first of its kind in the country, a community Y with an on-site hospital-run emergency department, all set near Federal Highway and NE 8th Street in Fort Lauderdale.
According to WSVN, a long line of trucks queued up for the initial concrete pour at 707 NE Eighth Street, marking the real start of the build. Officials told reporters the project is expected to boost access to emergency care across Broward County.
What the complex will include
YMCA of South Florida describes the future campus as roughly a 60,000-square-foot hub that combines a 48,000-square-foot Family Center with a 12,000-square-foot Broward Health freestanding Emergency Department. The Y’s project page notes that plans include a six-lane, 25-meter lap pool, an indoor basketball court, fitness studios, child care facilities and community rooms, with the center projected to serve more than 15,000 families every year.
“We’re bringing resources to this community, we’re bringing programs and services that have just really been left out for this particular section of the community, so now it’s going to be absolutely the destination. This is our Central Park right here in Fort Lauderdale,” YMCA president Sheryl Woods said, as reported by WSVN. Her comments came during the on-site ceremony timed with the first concrete pour.
Emergency care on-site
Per Broward Health, the freestanding emergency department will be staffed by board-certified emergency physicians and outfitted for resuscitation and diagnostic services, including CT scans, X-rays and on-site lab work. Broward Health’s freestanding model is designed to offer 24/7 emergency care with faster transfers to hospital campuses when a higher level of care is needed.
Timeline, cost and construction
As reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, YMCA officials have estimated the Family Center will cost about $35 million to build, while Broward Health’s emergency department carries a price tag of about $18 million, for a total investment of roughly $53 million. The Sun-Sentinel also noted that Broward Health has agreed to pay the YMCA nearly $27 million to sublease space on the site for 30 years. CityBiz reports that Gulf Building LLC is serving as general contractor and Stratus Team (formerly Zyscovich) is the architect, and the YMCA lists an opening date in 2027…