la Frontera In the News

Austin Business Journal

May 5, 2004

Med School may have $3B pricetag

by Mary Alice Kaspar, Austin Business Journal Staff

New details about a proposed medical school complex being planned for the Austin area -- including a $2 billion to $3 billion price tag -- were revealed today by State Rep. Jack Stick, R-Austin.

Stick addressed more than 500 attendees at the Fourth Annual Joint Real Estate Power Luncheon, held at the Four Seasons. He has been working with State Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Taylor, on the medical school initiative.

Stick says his vision -- which would cost between $2 billion and $3 billion to implement -- encompasses a campus comprised of a medical school and five to six teaching hospitals.

"We need to build not just another medical school," Stick says, adding there are plenty of places with good ones. "What we do need is a world-class medical school."

Mock drawings were on hand that illustrated a complete complex with six hospitals surrounding a medical school, pharmacy school and nursing school. Also on the map was a transportation station and medical office complex.

The illustrations were produced by Austin engineering firm Bury+Parnters Inc. and Austin architecture firm Susman Tisdale Gayle.

Though explicit roadways weren't labeled on the map, it aligns with an area that's immediately west of MoPac Expressway, north of Parmer Lane, south of Howard Lane and east of the Union Pacific Railroad called Robinson Ranch. The property's landowners have said they are in talks with state representatives and open-minded about the idea.

When asked about a potential location, Stick said it makes sense for the school to be on the north side of town, where the population is booming.

"We can do this intelligently or not," Stick says. " We can find land south and west and no one would be there. The growth in Austin is going to be north."

Stick says it makes sense to begin medical school efforts in Central Texas with a partnership between existing medical schools, and start by focusing on one or two specialty hospitals, then helping the complex grow over time.

Stick also acknowledged the hefty price tag, saying: "It's expensive, but it's not going to get any cheaper."