Larsen Health Center

Larsen Health Center is located on the Shell Point Retirement Community continuing care campus in Fort Myers, Florida. RDG's design for the newly-constructed building replaces a nearly 50-year-old existing skilled nursing facility to bring together all of Shell Point’s health care services, including a comprehensive medical office center, behavioral health suite, therapy rehabilitation center, dental offices, pharmacy and a 180-bed skilled nursing facility with private rooms.   Encompassing approximately 200,000-SF of space across six floors, the center includes exam and procedure rooms, offices for Shell Point’s medical staff and specialty physicians, an inpatient/outpatient therapy center with an open-gym concept, occupational therapy home suite, a state-of-the-art aqua therapy pool and private treatment rooms on the first floor. Floors two through six offer 162 private and nine companion skilled nursing rooms with 10-foot ceilings, expansive windows and well-appointed bathrooms with walk-in showers. Dining rooms and sunrooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing water and nature preserve views. Each self-contained residential neighborhood accommodates 20 residents and offers a living room, activity room, lounge area and a family conference room. The project was designed in collaboration with Shell Point's Operations Development Team, Wegman Design Group, Johnson Engineering, Stantec Consulting Services and Fiber Solutions. The Weitz Company handled all construction activities as the construction manager.

Larsen Health Center’s location less than one mile from the Gulf of Mexico inspired RDG’s overall design approach to maximize views and incorporate connections to natural soundings. The resulting design offers sweeping views of Shell Point’s campus, the Captiva and Sanibel Islands, Fort Myers Beach and the blue-green waters of the Gulf. Because its location is prone to coastal weather events, RDG's design for the center supports Shell Point’s protect-in-place protocols by allowing the building to withstand Category 4 hurricane wind speeds and Category 5 flood surges. The building also has generator backup of all emergency, life-safety and normal power systems.