HCA Florida Healthcare is exploring development of a free-standing emergency center in Arlington.
Memorial Healthcare Group Inc., part of HCA, applied to the St. Johns River Water Management District to review an application for an environmental resource permit for a center on 3.99 acres that the health care system bought May 26.
Memorial Healthcare Group Inc., based at HCA Healthcare headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, paid $1.111 million for the property.
It bought it from SGRR LLC, which has members from Ponte Vedra, California and Wyoming.
The vacant and wooded site is west of Interstate 295 and next to the RaceTrac gas station and convenience store at 8240 Merrill Road.
The property is across from Merrill Station Shopping Center, which is anchored by a Walmart Neighborhood Market.
“As a part of HCA Florida Healthcare, we are always looking to bring healthcare closer to where people live and work … to expand our care in this neighborhood,” said Odette Struys, public information officer of HCA Florida Memorial Hospital.
She said June 21 the opening would be “most likely in 2024.”
HCAFloridaHealthcare.com says it has an emergency room at its main campus at 3625 University Blvd. and three full-service emergency rooms open 24/7: Atlantic Emergency at 11850 Atlantic Blvd.; Mandarin Emergency at 10910 San Jose Blvd.; and Julington Creek Emergency at 42 Doctors Village Drive in Saint Johns.
The Merrill Road site is within the Renew Arlington Community Redevelopment Area, which is designated by the city for upgrades and renewal.
The Rogers Towers law firm in Jacksonville applied to the city to rezone the property from Commercial Office to Commercial, Residential and Office.
Ordinance 2023-0368 was introduced June 13 to Jacksonville City Council.
It is scheduled at the Jacksonville Planning Commission on July 20 and at a Council Land Use and Zoning Committee public hearing Aug. 1.
Oneida Environmental of Jacksonville is a consultant.