AdventHealth is gearing up to plant its first full hospital inside The Villages, claiming a 25-acre slice of a sprawling 700-acre mixed-use project called Legacy Place. The new facility is slated to open with roughly 80 beds and offer emergency, surgical and inpatient care, anchoring a Benderson Development and The Villages partnership that will also bring retail, dining and business space along Florida’s Turnpike.
In a May 8 press release, AdventHealth cast the move as a response to rapid population growth and the need to bring higher-acuity care closer to residents. The system says the hospital is being planned as an anchor on roughly 25 acres, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and doors projected to open in 2030. "We're planning for what families will need not just today, but years from now," said Rob Deininger, CEO of AdventHealth's East Florida division, in the release.
What Legacy Place Will Include
Developers are billing Legacy Place as a super-regional campus that will stretch nearly three miles along the Turnpike near County Road 470 and Central Parkway, with a mix of shops, restaurants, office space, and the new medical campus. The hospital footprint will sit on about 25 acres within the larger development, and the buildout is expected to happen in phases, with early retail and infrastructure pieces projected to open in 2027. According to The Villages, the collaboration with Benderson is designed to expand services and amenities at the community's southern gateway.
Timeline and Local Impact
The new AdventHealth facility is planned to open with about 80 beds, bringing emergency and surgical services closer to thousands of residents who now head outside the immediate area for higher-acuity care. As outlined by AdventHealth, the project is expected to bolster the local economy by creating jobs and driving long-term investment in nearby communities. Leaders at Benderson Development have pointed to the size of the site and say Legacy Place should be a magnet for retailers and additional health care partners over time.
Why It Matters
The Villages area has been one of the nation's fastest-growing metros in recent years, a trend the U.S. Census Bureau highlighted when it ranked the Wildwood–The Villages metro near the top of growth lists for 2022–2023. That surge has increased demand for emergency and specialty services across Lake, Sumter, and Marion counties and has helped fuel a broader wave of health care expansion in the region. AdventHealth says the new hospital is meant to cut travel times for urgent care and routine inpatient needs for many residents nearby.
What’s Next
Developers will still have to clear permitting and entitlement steps before major construction can start, and officials say more details on tenants and construction phasing will roll out as the project advances. The plan was first reported by the Orlando Business Journal on May 12, which noted that the hospital would sit within the broader Legacy Place development. Local leaders and developers say additional information about timing and partners will be released as approvals are secured.
