Construction of the $295 million cardiac center on the campus of NCH Baker Hospital in Naples is reaching milestones with structural steel work soon getting underway.
Naples Comprehensive Health has asked the city of Naples for a change in work times to add hours.
That would reduce the number of concrete trucks on local roads during regular business hours and would help with finishing structural beam work before peak hurricane season.
It also would mean being able to remove two of the three large cranes from the site during peak hurricane season.
The request is to start at 7 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. The work hours have been 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
One neighbor, Bill Jack, who lives on First Ave. N., said NCH “is doing a good job managing the project so far.”
There’s been very little noise or traffic, he said.
At a recent neighborhood meeting, NCH said it would be hanging steel which would be followed by concrete pours that it wanted to do in the early morning hours to give the concrete time to set before afternoon rain, he said.
NCH has asked for the OK to do some Saturday hours from May to August.
Part of the plan involves starting concrete deck pours in the early overnight hours of 2 a.m. from May to August.
Noise mitigation during the overnight hours will include changing the backup alarms on concrete trucks from beeping to a “swoosh sound” and building a noise barrier.
Battery powered equipment will be used where possible instead of gas powered equipment.
NCH heart center project background
Groundbreaking was held in June 2025 for the 189,000-square-foot heart and stroke center that will be five stories at Seventh Street N. Construction is expected to take two years. A new parking garage is planned.
A chunk of the hospital’s surface parking lot is fenced off yet valet parking is available for all visitors.
The cardiac and stroke center, officially named the R.M. Schulze Family Heart and Stroke Critical Care Center , was four years in planning stages and gained final approval from the Naples City Council in 2024.
A parking garage with four floors with an open air top deck and 375 spaces will be built abutting Sixth Street North.
The complex will consolidate heart and stroke care in one location with the latest technology for optimal patient care. Another goal is attracting some of the best cardiac and stroke specialists from around the country to join NCH staff.
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Liz Freeman is a health care reporter. Reach her by emailing lfreeman@naplesnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Hurricanes and construction cranes don’t mix. Why that matter for NCH heart project.
Reporting by Liz Freeman, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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