Mease Dunedin Hospital in Dunedin, FL will build a new critical care unit, surgery department and specialty hospital.

The multi-phase project will encompass more than 51,000 square feet of renovation and 4,000 square feet of new construction. The project will cost an estimated $19 million.

All phases of construction and renovation are expected to be completed in 2010, a release said.

The first phase will include the construction of a new critical care unit and respiratory care department with 20 private patient rooms. Additional phases call for construction and renovation of seven new operating rooms, renovating a 14-bed ambulatory care unit with three exam rooms, renovating a 12-bay post-anesthesia care unit, and renovating the sterile processing department.

Operating rooms will double in size, allowing the hospital to accommodate the increased demand for and type of specialized surgical equipment required for neurosurgeries and orthopedic procedures, Lou Galdieri, administrator and chief operating officer, said in the release.

The architectural firm for the project is TRO Jung/Brannen of Sarasota, and the contractor is Wehr Constructors Inc., based in Kentucky.

Mease Dunedin is a 173-bed facility that is part of Morton Plant Mease Health Care