Planners at Texas Children’s Hospitals think big. Already the largest children’s hospital in the United States, the Houston-based hospital set out to further build on its vast resources with Vision 2010, a $1.5-billion expansion program. The initiative, which was announced in 2006, is the largest investment in Texas Children’s history, adding two new buildings, expanding existing facilities and establishing a new campus. Beyond providing future care for patients, the building program has proven to be a lifeline for thousands of Houston-area construction workers, suppliers, designers and consultants during tough economic times, earning it the designation as Texas Construction’s 2010 Owner of the Year.
The capital program includes three new facilities at the Texas Medical Center campus in Houston: the $215-million 370,000-sq-ft Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the $575-million 796,000-sq-ft Texas Children’s Maternity Center; and a $120-million 206,000-sq-ft expansion of the existing Feigin Center. Crews are also building a new $220-million 534,000-sq-ft suburban pediatric hospital near the West Houston Airport. An additional $370 million is earmarked for new equipment and information systems to support quality improvement.