Moffitt Cancer Center Opens 250,000-SF Discovery and Innovation Center at Speros; Hammes Healthcare Managed Project

Moffitt Cancer Center celebrated the ribbon-cutting of its 250,000-square-foot Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center at Speros in Land O' Lakes, Florida, on October 22, completing a research facility on its new life sciences campus. Hammes, a national real estate consulting, development, investment and management firm, served as project manager for the building, the firm announced October 23.

Moffitt Cancer Center Research Facility at 16480 Wilton Way

The Discovery and Innovation Center is located at 16480 Wilton Way in Land O' Lakes, on Moffitt's 775-acre Speros life sciences campus in Pasco County. The campus sits adjacent to the Suncoast Parkway, approximately 25 minutes from Tampa International Airport. The building expands Moffitt Cancer Center's research capabilities within the new campus.

The facility was designed to support collaboration across research disciplines and help move promising scientific discoveries toward new cancer treatments. It includes flexible laboratory environments, shared technology and equipment spaces, collaborative areas, and specialized capabilities supporting tumor biology, drug discovery, chemistry, bioengineering and cancer metabolism. Moffitt's research focus includes advancing cell therapies and radiopharmaceuticals, and the center includes 12 shared research resources.

The center is expected to house 20 faculty laboratories and approximately 250 research personnel by the end of 2026.

Hammes Healthcare Project Management and Design Team

Hammes served as project manager for the research facility. DLR Group and Tsoi Kobus Design were the architects, and Whiting-Turner was the general contractor.

"This research project required a level of coordination beyond a traditional medical facility," said Wade Milligan, Regional Vice President with Hammes Healthcare. "We had a tremendous team in place and are grateful to Moffitt Cancer Center for their partnership and to our project partners for their role in successfully bringing this project to completion on time and within budget."

Adjacent Outpatient and Proton Therapy Facilities

The Discovery and Innovation Center is located near the 120,000-square-foot Moffitt at Speros Outpatient Center, which includes the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Center, at 16370 Wilton Way. Hammes also provided project management services for those facilities, which opened earlier this year. The outpatient center began treating patients in January 2026, and the proton center was expected to begin serving patients in summer 2026.

The initial Speros development phase, which includes the outpatient and proton facilities, the research center and supporting infrastructure, is expected to be completed by 2028. The broader campus is supported by more than $1 billion in planned capital investment.

Market Context for Life Science Real Estate

The project is an owner-occupied institutional development rather than a sale, acquisition or third-party lease, and Moffitt Cancer Center will occupy the research facility itself. The campus pairs specialized laboratories with outpatient care and proton therapy in a single location, reflecting a model in which research campuses seek adjacency to clinical facilities to support translational medicine, clinical trials and the movement of discoveries into patient care.

Laboratory projects typically require higher-cost mechanical, electrical, plumbing and life-safety systems than ordinary office buildings, and shared equipment and specialized research areas can improve utilization compared with isolated departmental laboratories.

Outlook

With the research center complete and the outpatient and proton facilities operating, the first major phase of the Speros campus is largely in place ahead of the 2028 target for completing the initial development phase.

Sources

• Hammes: Hammes celebrates ribbon-cutting of Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center at Speros