Photo credit: speros.org
In the heart of Land O’ Lakes, a bold new chapter for Pasco County is taking shape on 775 acres of once-open land. Moffitt Cancer Center’s Speros campus is steadily transforming from vision to reality, bringing world-class cancer care, cutting-edge research, and high-wage opportunity closer to home. Here’s how the story has unfolded so far—and where it’s headed next.
The journey began with a groundbreaking in January 2023. Three years later, the first major milestone arrived. On January 9, 2026, community leaders and Moffitt officials gathered for the ribbon-cutting of the Moffitt Speros Outpatient Center. Just weeks later, on January 26, the doors officially opened to patients. This roughly 120,000-square-foot facility quickly became a vital resource, offering medical oncology clinics, infusion therapy, diagnostic imaging, radiation oncology, lab services, and screenings—all without the long drive into Tampa.
By summer 2026, the campus took another important step forward when the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Therapy Center began treating patients. As Tampa Bay’s first dedicated proton therapy facility, it expanded treatment options with greater precision and fewer side effects for many cancer patients.
Then, in late October 2026, the scientific engine of Speros roared to life. The Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center—a striking 250,000-square-foot research building—opened its doors. Designed to bring together experts in drug discovery, bioengineering, cancer metabolism, cell therapies, and radiopharmaceuticals, the center is expected to house about 20 faculty labs and roughly 250 researchers and staff by the end of the year. For the first time, scientists, clinicians, and patients are working side by side on the same campus.
Looking ahead, the momentum continues. Early 2028 is set to bring the opening of the FORGE incubator inside the research center, giving early-stage biotech companies a home to grow. Through 2028, additional infrastructure and support facilities will keep expanding the campus. Later in the decade, a new 130,000-square-foot Integrated Theranostics Center is planned for radiopharmaceutical manufacturing, with a target completion around late 2029. More office and lab space for growing companies is also on the horizon.
Over the longer term, Speros is designed to include up to 140 buildings across roughly 500 developed acres, while preserving significant conservation land. Projections point to more than 11,000 total jobs by 2033, positioning Pasco County as a rising force in Florida’s life-sciences economy.
From the first patients walking through the outpatient doors in January 2026 to the researchers settling into brand-new labs this fall, Speros is already delivering on its name—hope.
