At the same time, the hospital is relocating about 575 employeesfrom its financial services, marketing and human resourcesdepartments to the 113,402-sf, near-empty Spectrum Building itpurchased earlier this year at 900 Winderly Place in the5.7-million-sf Maitland Center submarket. Florida Hospital paidDecade Cos. of Waukesha,, WI $9.1 million, or $80.25 per sf, forthe 17-year-old property, as GlobeSt.com previously reported.

Hospital officials told GlobeSt.com at the time they figured itwould be more cost effective for them to buy and house theemployees at the Spectrum building rather than build a new locationfor the workers. New construction would have cost the hospital atleast $150 per sf, area developers familiar with hospital officeconstruction tell GlobeSt.com.

When completed, the new tower will increase Florida HospitalOrlando's bed count by 300 to 1,182, the hospital says. FloridaHospital Altamonte is adding a 75-bed tower and a larger emergencyroom. The 211-bed Florida Hospital East on Lake Underhill Drive isadding a four-story, 80-bed addition. Work on the Altamonte and theLake Underhill locations is scheduled for completion in early2007.