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TAMPA, Fla., March 10, 2005 – Florida Veterinary Specialists & Cancer Treatment Center (FVS) announced today that the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) approved its request to rezone two single family homes to permit construction of Brandon Veterinary Specialists (BVS) hospital with a maximum of 14,500 square feet. The homes are located on 1.64 acres at the northwest corner of Lumsden Road and Hilltop Drive, just east of BVS’ temporary leased space on 723 West Lumsden Road which opened in December 2004. These offices currently provide emergency after-hours care, but BVS plans to expand its services and its space along with growing demand for veterinary specialty services in the Brandon market.
FVS founder and director Neil Shaw, DVM, ACVIM, said that the new BVS hospital will probably not require all of the approved space for several years. But he adds that his experience trying to keep pace with demands for new services at FVS’ main facility on Busch Lake Boulevard taught him a valuable lesson.
“We have learned never to underestimate the power of the bond between humans and their animal companions,” said Dr. Shaw. “More and more pet owners are absolutely committed to doing everything possible to provide their animal family members with as healthy a life as possible. Today that can mean providing a level of medical treatments in many cases comparable to the level of care provided for humans.” Dr. Shaw said that bond is responsible for FVS’ rapid growth from its initial 1,500 square foot facility opened in 1996 to the largest private veterinary practice in the Southeast today, with offices of more than 17,000 square feet and a staff of 120 people serving more than 24,000 patients each year.
He said that construction of the new Brandon satellite facility will be done in phases. “At this point, we are considering building a 5,000 square foot facility fronting Lumsden Ave. for the primary hospital, with the ability to expand another 3,500 square feet in that location,” said Dr. Shaw. He said that simultaneously they will probably design and build out the other approved 6,000 square feet as medical office space and seek a tenant or tenants for that space.
Dr. Shaw also said that while no firm date has been set to begin construction, even if they were fast-tracking the project it would require a minimum of 18 months, and more realistically two years, before completion. “This gives us the time necessary to continue to establish our presence in the Brandon market, and to work closer with the referring family veterinarians we serve,” said Dr. Shaw. He said he expects to announce more definitive plans within the next one to two months.
BVS is a satellite office of FVS, the 24-hour critical care facility that serves as the primary emergency and referral center for the Tampa Bay area. The main areas of care provided include: Acupuncture, Avian and Exotics, Behavioral Medicine, Critical Care, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Oncology/Radiation Oncology, Ophthalmology, Radiology and Surgery.
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