CENTRAL / SOUTH TEXAS
Central Texas Medical Boom by: Suzanne Scott
........................................................................................... Located between Austin and San Antonio on the booming I-35 corridor, New Braunfels population has increased over 55% in the past eight years. This growth and the increased patient load created by Obamacare are fueling a medical property development boom that includes new hospitals and medical facilities as well as senior living facility expansion and new development. The existing Eden Hill Community senior living center, originally built in 1910 is going through a $72 million renovation and expansion that includes new construction of The Pinnacle at Eden Hill, a 103 unit independent living apartment building. The CCRC (Continuous Care Retirement Center) model in place at Eden Hill allows seniors to stay within the Eden Hill community as their care and medical needs advance. According to Eden Hill management, about 50% of new residents move to New Braunfels from outside the area.
The Christus Santa Rosa system opened a ten bed 12,000 foot free standing emergency room in January at the FM 306 and IH-35 Creekside development, directly behind Buccee’s, the largest convenience store in the world at 67,000
square feet. Patients needing further care will be transferred to the existing Christus Santa Rosa downtown hospital and eventually to their planned Medical Campus on up to 50 acres at the master planned Veramendi site on Loop 337. Also on a 56 acre site adjacent to The Town Center at Creekside, Resolute Health, a division of Vanguard has construction well under way on a 150 bed hospital system that will also include a 25,000 foot wellness facility open to the community. They are developing an integrative model of health care based on wellness and prevention and opening is anticipated in the spring of 2014.
The hospital joins the approximately million square feet of retail and restaurant space and a 400 unit apartment complex set to house new residents soon. Houston based NewQuest properties, owner of the Town Center at Creekside in New Braunfels, will utilize a good portion of the remaining 80 acres of undeveloped land they own to enter into the medical arena. Negotiations are under way for a skilled nursing facility and plans are in the works for medical office space to be developed adjacent to the hospital. With lots of green space, hike and bike trails and the ability to shop, live, work and even receive medical care, Town Center at Creekside developed fully will be truly a livable community. Because of the growth of the I-35 corridor, the existing and planned medical facilities are positioning New Braunfels to be a regional powerhouse that will continue to provide more and more medical services as the population grows and ages.
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