Maitland City Talk

Central Florida is blessed in that we have become one of the nation’s leaders in computer modeling, simulation and training. Based primarily on the military, and mostly located in the University of Central Florida Research Park, it is a $3 billion industry that encompasses more than 130 companies and 30,000 jobs. Did you know that nearly every member of the military sent to defend our country at some point in their career was trained on technology that was either designed or developed in Central Florida?

But, in addition to our military advancements, the medical city in Lake Nona represents a confluence of medical and education giants that could rival our military advancements in the field of medical training and simulation. Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, the new University of Central Florida College of Medicine and the Orlando VA Medical Center have joined forces to create a medical powerhouse that will change the way the world views medical research.

The impacts of this medical city have already been felt locally with the creation and addition of thousands of medical, professional and construction jobs, which have helped to stimulate our economy. And the focus the medical city has brought to Central Florida has reached our local community.

In Maitland, the development of a 43,000-square-foot facility has quietly and successfully surfaced as the potential beginning of a sister medical campus to the north. A medical consortium of some of Florida’s most prestigious doctors has chosen Maitland Concourse South to locate their new offices and surgery center.

The medical center’s principal focus will be on serving the pediatric needs of the community, providing a multitude of pediatric sub-specialties and outpatient surgery services. A pediatric campus of this size, accompanied by a 12,000-square-foot surgery center onsite, will not only be unique to Central Florida, but will rival pediatric centers in major metropolitan cities across the nation. Although focused on pediatric care, the medical center will also offer a variety of medical services for adults.

Lamm and Company Partners developed the project. I attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and was incredibly impressed with the doctors that were a part of bringing this project to Maitland. Anchors to the medical center will include Eye Physicians of Central Florida, Children’s Ear Nose and Throat Associates, Florida Pediatric Associates and Children’s Surgery Center. OB+ Architecture Inc. is the design architect for the project, which is located on Maitland Boulevard a few blocks east of the Interstate 4 interchange. In addition to their impact on the Maitland community, their location is what is important to Central Florida’s future.

Maitland Boulevard, east of I-4, recently received approval for widening to six lanes and is expected to be one of the first east/west rail lines connecting to the SunRail commuter rail system. This corridor also includes significant undeveloped land in the heart of Central Florida, which could represent a major future medical development opportunity with easy access to and from I-4.

Although it will never rival Lake Nona’s medical city in size, the future medical development opportunities could make this corridor and the city of Maitland a branch of Central Florida’s medical city that could, over time, rival any pediatric center in the country. But of course, the vision of our future leaders, along with the involvement of our local medical and development partners, will determine the course of action we will take.

We can only hope and dream.