The University of Texas has announced plans to launch a $2.5 billion initiative to accelerate and expand UT Austin’s burgeoning medical district. The University of Texas at Austin Medical Center will start with two new hospital towers — The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a UT Austin hospital.
MD Anderson will expand its Houston footprint to Austin by building and operating a new, comprehensive cancer center, while UT Austin will build and operate its new specialty hospital.
“The establishment of the University of Texas at Austin Medical Center, with UT MD Anderson Cancer Center adjacent to a new university hospital and access to all of UT Austin’s education and research assets, will undoubtedly result in transformative cancer care, provide students at the flagship campus with unmatched experiences, and benefit patients throughout the state and nation for all time,” said University of Texas System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife in a statement.
Eltife noted that the total investment for these cornerstone projects of the new medical center is still in the discussion by the regents and is estimated at $2.5 billion. Once approved, the hospitals will be built on the current site of UT Austin’s Erwin Center. The former Longhorns basketball arena will be demolished by fall 2024, and it is anticipated that groundbreaking for the hospitals should begin in 2026.
UT Austin’s new university hospital will be constructed adjacent to the MD Anderson site. UT Austin and UT MD Anderson already share strong collaborative relationships, UT said. That partnership will be able to grow significantly in the new medical center, using the strengths of both institutions, including the Dell Medical School, to provide a higher level of interaction and space for them to conduct research, educate medical students and treat patients shoulder to shoulder in Austin. UT Austin and UT MD Anderson collectively conducted $1.8 billion in research last year.
“The plans announced today by the Board of Regents will support an extraordinary expansion of the UT System’s education, healthcare, and research missions to serve Texas,” added UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken, in a statement. “As one of the nation’s largest comprehensive university systems, the UT System has fostered numerous collaborative opportunities across our institutions, and this latest one will include a relationship between UT Austin and UT MD Anderson that is an extraordinary demonstration of how this kind of synergy can positively and dramatically impact the lives of Texans.”
