A once-derelict psychiatric hospital in the Dr. Phillips neighborhood is back in business, this time as a modern specialty rehab center at 7450 Sand Lake Commons Blvd. The 1980s-era, 72,000-square-foot property, long mostly vacant, has been converted into a 63-bed Select Specialty Hospital focused on recovery from stroke, brain and spinal cord injuries, amputations, and complex orthopedic cases. The adaptive-reuse conversion, completed after years of vacancy and regulatory hurdles, has drawn attention across the healthcare real estate world.
According to CoStar, Holladay Properties began exploring restoration of the mostly vacant building in 2021 and shifted from speculative medical-office plans when Select Medical signed a long-term lease. Select Medical announced plans for the 63-bed hospital in April 2023, signing ahead of renovation completion. The project first won a 2024 CoStar Impact Award for Lease of the Year and later earned a 2026 Impact Award recognizing the redevelopment itself.
Renovation and construction
The project's design-build contractor, Construction & Design Group of Florida, reports that crews stripped the existing shell down to the concrete structure and then rebuilt the entire exterior before installing all-new electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and medical-gas systems. CDG's project page lists the scope as a four-story, 72,000-square-foot, 63-bed long-term acute care hospital and places the job's value at roughly $38 million. The work also added separate structures to house the generator, propane tanks, and an oxygen farm to meet hospital codes and redundancy requirements, a far cry from the building's former life, sitting mostly empty.
Developers, neighbors and awards
Holladay Properties said Select Medical signed a long-term lease and that the building sits adjacent to the Orlando Health Dr. Phillips Hospital, effectively plugging into an already dense medical cluster. In remarks published by CoStar, city real estate manager Laura Carroll called the conversion "extremely impactful," and tenant and landlord adviser Janet Galvin said the transformation "brings new jobs to the area across every aspect of the medical field."
Why it matters for Orlando
The new facility adds specialized post-acute capacity to the Dr. Phillips medical hub and creates both clinical and support roles in the neighborhood. Career listings on Select Medical show openings tied directly to the hospital. According to Select Medical, the hospital's programs for brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, amputation, and complex orthopedic recovery signal an expanded local option for patients who otherwise might travel for care. Local coverage of the deal's origins and the lease negotiation appears in the Orlando Business Journal.
