Centro Asturiano de Tampa Hospital.

Centro Asturiano de Tampa Hospital. Burgert Brothers. Courtesy, University of South Florida Digital Collection

Centro Place Apartments, Thirteenth Street and Twenty First Avenue, Tampa, FL. 2022 © Chip Weiner

After opening its first hospital, Sanatorio del Centro Asturiano, in 1905, the mutual aid societies Centro Asturiano began to outgrow the space by the 1920s. This second larger hospital was proposed in 1927 at Thirteenth St. and Twenty-first Ave. and was built on a 5-acre tract of land the club owned. When plans for the hospital were drawn up, the estimated cost was $175,000. The main building contained 26 rooms to treat medical cases and contagious diseases. It included a spacious lobby with cut stone archways and tile floors. It also had a pharmacy, outpatient clinic, laboratory, and patient rooms. The second building with 13 rooms was used for surgery. The third building, two stories high, contained a hospital kitchen and was home for nurses. The hospital opened in 1928 and was one of the most modern medical facilities of its time.

After nearly 75 years the hospital closed abruptly in 1990 and went bankrupt in 1991. The property became a dumping ground for trash, stolen vehicles, and a place for vagrants to find shelter. In 1996, officials condemned and demolished all but the first building and fenced off the property. Asbestos, medical waste, and underground tanks were discovered, making redevelopment difficult. In 2003, the city designated the site a brownfield. The city contributed $1.5 million, and $16.6 million federal dollars were obtained by the Home Association, a charitable organization next to the hospital. The Centro Place Apartment Homes development began building after collaborating with the neighborhood and other invested parties and addressing their preservation concerns. The development, taking a city block, opened in 2005. Once a welcoming site for the sick, the main hospital building shines again as affordable home for seniors.

From Burgert Brothers: Look Again Vol. 2