EXPERTS LANE n CENTRAL FLORIDA HEALTH CARE
Orange County’s Medical Properties –
Caring For a Growing Community
By Rick Singh, CFA
Orange County Property Appraiser
C
entral Florida is on the move. Since
the end of the economic down-
turn in 2012, Orange County and
its surrounding areas have seen
historic growth in market and taxable value.
That’s good news for businesses in the area,
as well as homeowners because it shows
more money is flowing into the region.
According to the most recent data from the
Property Appraiser’s office, Orange Coun-
ty’s market value is a healthy $208.2 billion.
That’s a historic high for the county and an
increase of more than $19 billion from the
previous year. Additionally, new construc-
tion is up, which shows that developers
remain interested in Orange County and
continue to invest in new properties. From
new business to homes, the county contin-
ues to grow through new construction.
Within the amount of new construction
and growth in market value, Central Flor-
ida’s medical communities are growing.
New hospitals, free-standing emergency
departments, clinics, etc., continue to
pop-up around the area.
BUSINESS SECTOR
When a community begins to grow, the
economy usually rises with it. More busi-
nesses arrive, which brings more money
and opportunity to the area.
In downtown Orlando, a new high-rise is
currently under construction that will offer a
new platform for SunRail, the city’s rail trans-
portation system, as well as business offices
and a hotel. Restaurants will sprout around
it that will bring more money to the city’s
business center. More events continue to
come to Camping World Stadium, the city’s
Amway Center has become a top venue for
entertainers, and the Orlando City Soccer
Club recently secured naming rights for its
stadium, showing the strength of its brand.
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Through these examples, we see how
strong Orange County is at attracting new
business.
HEALTH CARE
For all the county’s growth, a community
cannot survive without a strong network
of healthcare providers. With baby boom-
ers beginning to retire and age out of the
workforce, Orange County will need more
healthcare options for its population. Ac-
cording to data from the University of Florida,
Central Florida’s population will grow by
more than 1.3 million over the next 20 years.
That means that the region will need more
hospitals, emergency departments, clinics,
healthcare programs, and services to take
care of those coming and remaining in the
area.
Local and county governments, as well as
the business community, have taken notice
that the health of the region’s economy will
depend on the health of its residents. For
instance, AdventHealth, formerly known as
Florida Hospital, will invest over $1 billion
in expanding healthcare services to resi-
dents in Central Florida by building new
hospitals, outpatient centers, and emer-
gency departments.
Not to be outdone, Orlando Health is
opening a new hospital on the west side
of Orange County in 2021 and will soon
start construction on new hospitals in Lake
Mary and Lake Nona. The company recent-
ly broke ground on an emergency room
department in Osceola County and added
new rooms to its downtown campus.
Perhaps what will be the area’s “crown jewel”
of healthcare is Medical City in Lake Nona.
Constructing a new healthcare facility for
its residents called the Lake Nona Wellness
Center, the 650-acre Medical City also has
two healthcare facilities from the University
of Central Florida; the UCF Lake Nona Can-
cer Center and the UCF Health Sciences
Campus, as well as a research and academ-
ic center from the University of Florida, and
services Orange County and the region’s
veterans at the Orlando VA Medical Cen-
ter. Medical City is also home to Nemours
Children Hospital where more than 200,000
children have been treated since it opened.
Overall, commercial real estate owned by
healthcare-related industries in Orange
County has risen in value to over $4.2 bil-
lion in 2019, whereas in 2013, right after
the recession ended, the value of health-
care-related property was just $1.8 billion.
Healthcare not only helps the economy, it’s
growing it in Orange County, and through
the Orange County Property Appraiser’s
Office, we see how much it’s rising. In 2019,
Tangible Personal Property Accounts for
the healthcare industry, which includes
equipment like x-ray machines, computers,
and other related items, totaled $902 mil-
lion, up by almost $100 million from 2015.
This much growth in the healthcare indus-
try in Central Florida shows how diverse
the region’s economy has become. In ad-
dition to tourism and sports, healthcare has
become a strong source of development
for Orange County.
It also shows that the region is well-posi-
tioned to take good care of its residents and
keep Orange County and Central Florida
healthy and prosperous.
Rick Singh, CFA
Orange County
Property
Appraiser