Lee Health breaks ground on Cape Coral outpatient center

Construction is underway on a 100,000-square-foot outpatient medical center in Cape Coral, set to open next year off Veterans Parkway near Santa Barbara Boulevard. 

The facility is designed to provide comprehensive cancer, heart and musculoskeletal services, including diagnosis, treatment and surgery, giving residents access to care closer to home. 

Lee Health leadership, city officials and construction partners hosted a groundbreaking ceremony May 18 for the project, describing it as a key component of the city’s healthcare infrastructure aimed at meeting community needs for decades. 

“Anytime that you can provide medical services here in the community and keep our residents from going across the bridge in order to get the same type of services, you know that we’re moving in the best direction,” Cape Coral Mayor John Gunter said. 

The project is part of Lee Health’s systemwide effort to expand access to specialty care and ease demand on hospitals by building major outpatient clinics. 

“That means fewer delays, fewer handoffs and a more connected experience for patients and families,” Lee Health CEO and President Dr. Larry Antonucci said. 

It is the second groundbreaking in as many weeks for the nonprofit health system. On May 13, Lee Health and its partners marked the start of construction on a 60,000-square-foot pediatric outpatient center in Fort Myers, scheduled to open in early 2028. 

“We’re able to do so much more these days at outpatient clinics,” said Kris Fay, chief administrative officer of Lee Physician Group and ambulatory care services at Lee Health. “Hospitals are getting more reserved for critically ill patients.” 

DeAngelis Diamond is the project’s construction manager, with Flad Architects and Smith Seckman Reid Inc. providing design services. Construction is expected to be completed by mid-summer 2027. 

The building is designed to minimize patient wait times. Clinical facilities will include four operating rooms, two catheterization labs, two cardiac treatment labs and 28 pre- and post-operative recovery rooms. 

The center also will offer oncology services, including an advanced infusion center and dedicated pharmacy to support chemotherapy and intravenous treatments. 

Imaging and radiology capabilities will include a PET-CT imaging room, MRI suite, X-ray facilities, echo vascular ultrasound rooms and two nuclear stress treadmill rooms. 

Clinical space also is reserved for coordinated care across cardiology, musculoskeletal and oncology services. 

“The patients who need us the most will have access to us in a much more convenient location,” Fay said.