Coastal Orthopedics breaks ground on Lakewood Ranch headquarters

Coastal Orthopedics President Dr. Arthur Valadie didn't know how to handle his company’s March 9 groundbreaking at its new headquarters in Lakewood Ranch.

“I don’t know I’ve ever been to a groundbreaking before,” Valadie said at the ceremony. “I assumed you just showed up, and there was food and golden shovels and everyone had a good time.”

So that’s what he planned for Tuesday’s groundbreaking — food and golden shovels. The event commemorated the 88,000-square foot facility being built on a 17-acre parcel of land near the southwest corner of State Road 64 and Lena Road.

“It's really a celebration for all the people who have worked very hard to bring this to fruition and to put our company in a position to do this,” Valadie said. “We've been working on site work for a while, and we’re starting to see some progress. You see the big equipment, you see all the people here. So yeah, it's definitely real now.”

Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore said it was a wise business decision to build the facility in the center of the county.

“We don't have a lot of health care in this area,” Whitmore said. “We don't have a full service like you're going to offer. So this just made sense. And I'm glad you made the investment, because it cost, I know, a lot of money what you're doing.”

Valadie said the construction will begin going vertical as early as June and he expects the building to be completed by April 2022.