Broward Health seeks design team for 90-bed Atrium Tower expansion

Broward Health is seeking an architecture and engineering team for a proposed three-floor expansion of the Atrium Tower at its Fort Lauderdale medical center, with plans for about 90 private acute-care beds.

The North Broward Hospital District’s request for qualifications describes approximately 64,100 square feet of additional space at 1600 South Andrews Avenue. Firms have until 3 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 9 to submit their qualifications; a public opening is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 10.

The procurement is for professional design services. It does not identify a selected design firm or establish a construction start date, project cost or funding decision.

Three new floors under consideration

The solicitation calls for adding the sixth, seventh and eighth floors to the existing patient tower. Its scope describes roughly 30 private acute-care beds on each floor, with medical-surgical nursing units and supporting spaces. Lobby and common areas are also among the uses described.

For patients and providers in central Broward, the proposed capacity would be located at an existing hospital campus rather than at a separate new facility. The figures describe the project in the procurement, and the final space program and schedule will be provided to the selected firm before negotiations, according to the district.

Broward Health says the work may be divided into phases or packages to accommodate ongoing operations, funding availability and sequencing. The selected architect is expected to lead planning, design, documentation and construction administration, with engineering disciplines including structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection.

Existing structure shapes the design work

An Oct. 22 addendum directs the eventual design team to review and validate existing structural assessments and a wind-tunnel review, identify any further investigations and advance structural design early in the project. Broward Health says the preliminary studies were prepared by Walter P Moore to help prospective firms understand existing conditions and potential reinforcement requirements.

The original scope says reinforcement of fewer than a dozen existing pilings may be needed, pending final structural assessments. That is a design consideration in the solicitation, not a finding that a particular reinforcement plan has been approved.

What firms need to know

The addendum extended the deadline for firm inquiries to noon Eastern on Oct. 27. Broward Health’s active opportunities page lists the request and the addendum alongside the supporting structural documents. Firms should check that listing for any subsequent changes before relying on the schedule.

The district anticipates a required site visit for shortlisted firms during the week of Nov. 30, but says the date is tentative and subject to change. The request also says conceptual massing diagrams and a wind assessment will be made available to shortlisted firms after a nondisclosure agreement.

After evaluating qualifications, Broward Health plans to engage shortlisted firms in discussions or presentations before final ranking and negotiation. The immediate competition is for the team that will develop the design, with the hospital’s operating and structural constraints part of that work.