Project category: New construction (completed October 2006)

Chief administrator: Brad Nurkin, CEO, (941) 637-3128

Firm: HHCP Architects, (407) 875-2722

Design team: Dan Houston, AIA, Division Director; Bill Jordan, AIA, Project Planner/Designer; Greg Pace, Project Manager; David Schell, RA, Project Coordinator

Photography: © Raymond Martinot

Total building area (sq. ft.): 654,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: Not Released

Total construction cost (excluding land): Not Released


Following a devastating hurricane, Charlotte Regional Medical Center recently completed a 65,400-sq.-ft. medical office building to replace the original irreparably damaged building. Located in Punta Gorda, Florida, this MOB consists of three doctor tenant floors over a 17,500-sq.-ft. first floor containing 29 covered parking spaces, an entry lobby, and elevators. The fourth floor features an expansive, 4,600-sq.-ft. terrace overlooking Peace River.

The design team encountered several challenges during this project. Because flood-zone limitations made the ground floor uninhabitable, covered parking was placed on the building’s first level. Since this replacement facility was constructed because of hurricane damage to the old facility, the project needed to be built effi-ciently and quickly to assist displaced doctors working in temporary facilities. In addition, city ordinances required a higher degree of design than most medical office buildings.

To comply with the “Commercial Vernacular” style, the design needed to blend with the desired architectural character of the community. As a solution, the architects created a reduced-scale look to convey several smaller connected buildings. The parking level was also disguised to simulate a storefront, giving the impression of shop windows at the pedestrian level. Different colored stucco exterior walls (featuring colors widely used in subtropical buildings throughout this region) further contributed to the scale and massing of the design.

The final result was a medical office building that met city design requirements and state hurricane codes while also exceeding the schedule, budget, and aesthetic goals of the owner.