Moffitt Cancer Center will celebrate the opening of a 250,000-square-foot research facility at its Speros campus in Land O' Lakes on Thursday, Oct. 22, bringing hundreds of cancer researchers to Pasco County by year's end.

The Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center, at 16480 Wilton Way, is expected to house 20 faculty laboratories and approximately 250 research personnel by the end of 2026.

The facility will bring together specialists in cancer biology, drug discovery, chemistry, bioengineering and cancer metabolism, according to 10 Tampa Bay.

The building also includes 12 shared research facilities designed to give scientists access to specialized equipment and encourage collaboration across disciplines.

Research center designed to bring scientists together

The facility is intended to address space limitations at Moffitt's existing research campus in Tampa while creating opportunities for scientists from different specialties to work together.

"When we built this building, we kind of purpose-built spaces, collision spaces, places where we're gonna force people to come together and interact with each other," Dr. John Schatzle, Moffitt's senior director of laboratory research operations, told 10 Tampa Bay during an August tour.

Moffitt began relocating researchers, laboratory equipment and scientific materials from its Magnolia campus in Tampa to Speros ahead of the opening.

The move includes specialized instruments, chemicals and research samples that must be transported under carefully controlled conditions to avoid disrupting ongoing experiments.

Approximately 60% of the new building is initially built out, with additional space reserved for future research programs and biotechnology partnerships, according to Moffitt's September project update.

The facility is expected to support research into new cancer treatments, including emerging radiopharmaceutical therapies that use radioactive substances to target cancer cells.

Speros campus expands cancer care and research

The Discovery and Innovation Center is the latest addition to Speros, Moffitt's 775-acre life sciences campus in Pasco County.

Construction began in January 2023, with the first phase of development expected to continue through 2028.

The campus already includes an outpatient cancer center that began treating patients in January and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Proton Therapy Center, which celebrated its ribbon-cutting July 23.

The proton therapy facility provides targeted radiation treatment designed to limit exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.

A biorepository operated through a partnership with Cryogene is also planned for the campus. The facility will support storage and handling of biological materials used in cancer research and treatment.

The Speros website describes more than $600 million in infrastructure investments associated with the campus. Florida Trend has reported approximately $1.1 billion in total capital investment.

Moffitt projects that the broader Speros development will support more than 11,000 jobs over the next decade. That figure represents a long-term campus projection, not positions created solely by the new research building.

What the expansion means for Wesley Chapel

The Speros campus expands Moffitt's presence in Pasco County, where the cancer center already operates an outpatient location at AdventHealth Wesley Chapel.

The Wesley Chapel location offers services including medical oncology, radiation therapy, infusion treatments and clinical trials.

Speros is located off Ridge Road near the Suncoast Parkway, northwest of Wesley Chapel.

The project also has attracted recognition for its anticipated economic impact.

At the Pasco Economic Development Council's annual awards Oct. 1, Speros received the Industry Impact Award.

Josh Carpenter, president of Speros and Moffitt's chief integration officer, described the campus's goal during the July proton center ceremony as an effort to "compress the distance between concept to cure."

Moffitt's Oct. 22 ribbon-cutting will mark the formal opening of the research facility. Public attendance information and ceremony details have not been confirmed.