GuideWell Innovation Center Groundbreaking Hosted by Tavistock Development Company at Lake Nona Medical City

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Oct 31, 2014, 08:00 ET

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Tavistock Development Co. (TDC), a diversified real estate firm owned by Tavistock Group, celebrated the groundbreaking of the GuideWell Innovation Center at Lake Nona Medical City.

The 92,000-square-foot, three-story facility is the first multi-tenant building in Central Florida designed specifically for life sciences, health innovation, and technology companies. Located in the heart of the 650-acre Lake Nona Medical City, near the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and the University of Florida (UF) Research & Academic Center, the GuideWell Innovation Center will offer a robust mix of lab, clean room and office space within an efficient, high tech facility in close proximity to multiple exceptional research and clinical institutions. The facility is scheduled to open in late 2015.

"We have understood from the beginning of Lake Nona Medical City that building a globally recognized innovation cluster depends on attracting top-tier ideas, talent and capital to launch companies that create high wage jobs and meaningful economic value," said Thad Seymour, senior vice president of Tavistock Development Company. "The innovative work of our partners in this effort will build and grow hundreds of companies that will ultimately impact the lives of millions of individuals worldwide."

Anchored by GuideWell, a health solutions company focused on transforming health care, the new facility will occupy the first floor of the building, with more than 30,000 square feet of space, and will feature six core Centers of Excellence such as Advanced Integrated Delivery of Care, Consumer Engagement, Digital Health and Next Generation Analytics – where healthcare industry thought leaders from around the globe will converge to address current state issues, evaluate emerging trends, and find the new solutions that will radically transform and reshape the healthcare industry. The new center will provide the supporting infrastructure, business expertise and business development pathway to get these solutions to market.

"In an industry where sustainability requires us to find solutions that lower cost and improve the effectiveness of care, and where empowered consumers are demanding new solutions to manage their health, we envision the GuideWell Innovation Center to be a global epicenter for responding to these challenges," said Pat Geraghty, Chairman and CEO of GuideWell and Florida Blue.

The GuideWell Innovation Center joins a prestigious group of partners at Lake Nona Medical City, including the University of Central Florida (UCF) Health Sciences Campus, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Nemours Children's Hospital, the University of Florida (UF) Research & Academic Center, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. The GuideWell Innovation Center is the first of four planned buildings on the commercial life sciences campus that includes future structured parking.

ABOUT TAVISTOCK DEVELOPMENT CO.
Tavistock Development Company (TDC) is a diversified real estate firm owned by Tavistock Group and specializing in planning, design, finance, construction and development. TDC's real estate portfolio is highlighted by the 7,000-acre master-planned community Lake Nona in Central Florida, in addition to its infrastructure network, residential, office and retail development and medical and educational institutions. For more information, visit tavistockdevelopment.com.

ABOUT TAVISTOCK GROUP 
Tavistock Group is an international private investment organization founded by Joe Lewis. With investments in hundreds of companies across 15 countries, Tavistock Group's investment portfolio includes: life sciences, sports teams and sporting events, manufacturing and distribution, oil, gas and energy, financial services, restaurants, commercial properties, private luxury residential properties, resort properties and master-planned real estate developments. For more information, visit www.tavistock.com.

ABOUT GUIDEWELL
GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation is a not-for-profit mutual holding company that is the parent to a family of forward-thinking companies focused on transforming health care. The GuideWell companies include: Florida Blue (Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan), GuideWell Health (a health care delivery company), GuideWell Connect (a health care consumer marketing company), and Diversified Service Options (an administrative and claims processing company for state and federal health care programs). For more information, visit www.guidewell.com

ABOUT LAKE NONA 
Lake Nona is a 7,000-acre master designed community in Orlando, Florida that is home to world-class education, Lake Nona Medical City, a sports innovation and performance cluster highlighted by USTA's New Home of American Tennis, recreational facilities, diverse workspaces, retail centers, entertainment venues and a variety of residential options for all types of people seeking the best the city has to offer with all the conveniences of living within a dynamic, vibrant community. Lake Nona is developed by Tavistock Development Company. For more information on Lake Nona, visit www.learnlakenona.com.

SOURCE GuideWell