UF Health Jacksonville today announced that its application for a Certificate of Need to build a new hospital in North Jacksonville has been preliminarily approved by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

The state-of-the-art 92-bed facility will be located on the campus of UF Health Jacksonville North at the northeast corner of I-95 and Duval Road.

“We are pleased that the state has once again approved our Certificate of Need application for a new inpatient hospital that will be situated on our north campus,” said Russ Armistead, CEO of UF Health Jacksonville. “A multispecialty medical complex is under construction right now on that site, and a new hospital will add an important element to serve the residents of the North Jacksonville community.”

The state could formally approve the project with the next few months.

UF Health Jacksonville is currently building a six-story medical office complex on the same site on Max Leggett Parkway near the River City Marketplace in North Jacksonville. That complex will include an emergency room, outpatient surgical suites, radiology services and offices for physicians from the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville and other community physicians. Completion is set for early 2015.

“Our new medical office complex will include a wide range of services, including an emergency room, outpatient surgery, offices for our highly skilled staff of physicians from the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville and more,” Armistead said. “This inpatient facility will add yet another crucial resource for our patients. We appreciate that state health officials agree with our proposal and look forward to continue serving the North Jacksonville community.”