Photo: Tampa General Hospital
Tampa General Hospital's President and CEO, John Couris, says the entire region will benefit from TGH's medical and research district.
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Economic Backbone: Hospitals
TGH and Tampa's Next Big Thing
At times, John Couris, the president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital, sounds more like a chamber of commerce pitchman than the president and CEO of a growing hospital network.
But Couris has Tampa business, political, academic and medical communities seeing magic brewing downtown. The Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Medical and Research District, he says, will attract the brightest minds in medical research, which in turn will draw startup founders, venture capitalists and thousands of new, high-paying jobs. The city stands to be transformed.
A Washington Economics Group study commissioned by TGH estimates an $8.3-billion annual economic impact from the district, which will support nearly 58,000 jobs — with more than 41,000 in the Tampa area.
“What’s most important is the economic prosperity of our region and of our state,” Couris says. “And the medical and research communities are a big part of that conversation.”
His board believes him, inking him to a 10-year contract extension last June that pays him about $2 million annually.
The district is a huge investment and has a good chance to have the transformative impact its planners promise.
“There definitely is what we call a multiplier effect. That point you start having some additional economic activity, it does draw additional business to support that level of economic activity that’s going on,” says Steven Ullman, director of the University of Miami’s Center for Health Management and Policy. “Especially when research is a component.”
New medical treatment and research means medical supplies, office space, along with shops and restaurants are all needed to serve the new population.
The idea to build a district gained momentum in 2020, when the USF Health's Morsani College of Medicine moved into a new, 13-story, $173-million tower on Water Street downtown.
“We are in complete go mode now,” says Couris.
TGH opened an 80-bed rehabilitation hospital on Kennedy Boulevard in 2022, followed by a $15-million emergency center last June. It broke ground weeks later on an adjacent 100-bed psychiatric center slated to open late next year.
The ER and psychiatric center are about a mile and a half from the hospital’s 30-acre Davis Islands campus, which also is expanding with a $510-million, 12-story surgical neuro-sciences and transplant tower, adding 32 operating rooms and 144 patient beds. A proton therapy center for cancer patients is still to come.
Tampa’s medical district is modeled after similar, well-established districts in Boston, Houston and Chicago. Because those districts are so deeply rooted, it can be difficult for young innovators to stand out, says Craig Richard, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council (EDC). “We offer an easier launching pad for these companies to take root and make an impact immediately.”
Richard came from Houston and is familiar with the Texas Medical Center. “I know first-hand how these medical districts are economic engines unto themselves,” he says.
Elsewhere in Florida, Miami’s Health District claims to be the nation’s second largest behind Houston, and Lake Nona’s Medical City is home to a growing cluster of health and life sciences organizations.
TGH is covering the costs for the EDC to provide survey and land use planning, recruitment and marketing for the project. The Council hired Jennifer Burrington, a former Ernst and Young economic development advisory senior, as director of healthcare and life sciences.
“This is the first time we’ve entered into this kind of partnership (with a third party)," Richard says. Burrington “seems like the perfect fit for this role.”
Still, some challenges remain in fully realizing the district.
Tampa’s housing market already is one of the state’s most expensive, and not all the new jobs will be high income. A new five-year plan will include an affordable housing element, Couris says, although neither he nor hospital officials could provide details.
“The city is exploding. The region is exploding,” he says. “People are coming here by the thousands every day to the state. That definitely helped. This probably couldn’t have been done 15 years ago.”
Business Beat - Week of May 3rd
