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Plans for new $5 billion pediatric health campus
The new campus will dramatically change how the hospital district looks, but more importantly, address the population boom in North Texas.
DALLAS - Children's Health and UT Southwestern announced an ambitious project to transform pediatric health care in Dallas.
The new campus will dramatically change how the hospital district looks, but more importantly, address the population boom in North Texas.
Groundbreaking on the new medical campus, located on the corner of Harry Hines Boulevard and Mockingbird Lane, will happen later this year. Construction is expected to take six to seven years.
Once complete, it will be a state-of-the-art pediatric facility.
It may not be much to look at now, but come 2031, the 33-acre site located in Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District will be home to a new state-of-the-art pediatric health campus.
"It’s been an amazing journey," Children’s Health president and CEO Chris Durovich said.
Durovich said the $5 billion campus is being built in partnership with UT Southwestern.
The estimated cost, equivalent to five AT&T Stadiums, is on an astonishing scale.
It will be a two million-square-foot hospital, bigger than the Pentagon, with two 12-story towers and an eight-story tower to replace the existing Children's Medical Center facility.
The goal is to significantly expand inpatient, outpatient, and emergency and surgical services.
"That will really allow us to meet our families, where they are at, in some of the most difficult times of our lives," said Lindsey Tyra, with Children’s Health.
The need is great.
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The pediatric population in North Texas is approximately 2.5 million, and with explosive population growth, that number is expected to double by 2050.
Competition in the medical industry is growing, too.
UT Austin recently announced a partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center to build a multi-billion dollar medical hub.
Then, there's the long-standing dominance of Texas Medical Center in Houston.
"By virtue of this new facility, this should make us an even stronger magnet to attract those people to North Texas to continue to grow the economy," Durovich said.
"I think we should be happy that this is the kind of infrastructure development that we're getting," SMU economist Mike Davis said.
Davis said this massive project is a reflection of just how fast North Texas is growing. And with that comes the need to be able to treat the population.
"When you grow the way DFW has grown, you need to expand everything, and these high-end medical facilities are extremely important," Davis explained.
Durovich said this new pediatric campus will ensure that children receive the most advanced medical care for the entire spectrum of pediatric medical needs for years to come.
"As I'm prone to say, world-class healthcare doesn't have to be a world away," he said.
Until the new medical campus is complete, the existing Children's Medical Center Dallas will remain in operation.
It’s unclear what will end up happening to that building.