Posts

Texas Health Rockwall’s $92.3 Million Expansion Serves Growing North Texas Region

/in , /by

An estimated $92.3 million expansion and renovation at Texas Health Hospital Rockwall is nearly doubling the size of the hospital and bringing a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), a Cardiac Catheterization Lab and an expanded Emergency Department to the growing North Texas community.

By expanding, Texas Health Rockwall, a joint venture between Texas Health Resources and area physicians, is increasing healthcare services to Rockwall and nearby communities.

“We are growing Texas Health Rockwall to better serve our patients and their families,” said Cindy Perrin, president of the hospital. “We are especially proud of our new NICU, which will help meet the health needs of our tiniest patients closer to their homes. Proximity to a hospital that can address critical care needs will bring greater comfort to families living in the communities we serve.”

A new two-story addition transforms an inpatient wing into a four-story bed tower. The project will add 32,000 square feet of new space and 51,000 square feet of renovated interior areas. These additions and renovations are being constructed in phases, with final completion expected in summer 2023.

Once the project is completed, the hospital is expected to deliver an estimated 1,200 babies a year, up from 400 or 200% today.

The project is an investment in the future health of families and residents in a high growth area. The hospital, which began as a small community hospital with a focus on surgery in December 2007, serves patients and families from various counties, including Rockwall, Kaufman, Hunt, eastern Dallas County and southern Collin County.

“Our caregivers live in these communities,” said Jason Linscott, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Texas Health Rockwall. “We want to provide the best care for our neighbors, friends and family members. This expansion allows us to bring greater access to medical services to families living east of Lake Ray Hubbard.”

The estimated population of Rockwall County was listed as 116,381 according to 2021 U.S. Census figures, an increase of more than 38,000 since the 2010 Census. Rockwall and nearby communities have been attracting businesses as North Texas continues to grow.

The new eight-bed NICU includes two private rooms and a separate room for parents who need to stay overnight to care for their babies. This addition brings a NICU to the hospital for the first time.

The NICU and other renovated areas have spacious waiting rooms in light blue and gray tones. Wave features are painted on the walls, alluding to the nearby lake. These features are intended to instill a sense of calm.

Most of the first floor is being renovated or refreshed. The facility’s front-line caregivers provided input into the design based on needs that came to light during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Once completed, Texas Health Rockwall’s project will include:

  • • New NICU
  • • Ten new Labor & Delivery Rooms in an expanded Labor & Delivery area – up from seven
  • • Two C-Section rooms up from one
  • • Twenty-four postpartum rooms up from 10
  • • Twelve Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds up from six
  • • Renovation of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit
  • • Expanded Emergency Department with 14 emergency room beds – up from seven
  • • New Cardiac cath lab and Interventional Radiology lab
  • • New kitchen
  • • New central plant and additional parking

 

Source:Blue Ribbon News

GFH Financial Group Acquires U.S. Medical Offices Portfolio In $400M Deal

/in /by

GFH Financial Group, an investment bank based in Bahrain, has acquired a portfolio of medical clinics in the US in a deal valued at $400 million, expanding its real estate portfolio in the world’s largest economy.

The income-yielding medical clinics portfolio consists of 11 assets with more than one million square feet of space and is spread across California, Texas, Maryland and Louisiana, GFH said.

“We are pleased to announce the acquisition of this prime, income-yielding medical clinic portfolio as part of GFH’s ongoing expansion in the medical office building sector in fast-growing cities across the US,” Nael Mustafa, co-chief investment officer of real estate at GFH, said. “We believe strongly in the long-term fundamentals in the healthcare sector and the dynamics that are supporting an increase in demand for high-quality medical office space.”

To date, GFH has built a portfolio of assets in the US medical office building sector valued at $1 billion. In December, it acquired a portfolio of medical offices in the US in a deal valued at $200M. The medical offices portfolio consists of 11 assets with more than 400,000 square feet of space spread across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Utah, Wisconsin, Ohio and Texas.

The latest portfolio is anchored by investment-grade credit tenancy through Baylor Scott & White (Moody’s Aa3), Texas A&M Health Science Centre (Fitch: AAA), Texas Tech University (Fitch AA+), Memorial Hermann (S&P A+) and Tidal Health (Moody’s Aa3), GFH said. The assets also offer unique specialisations within their respective submarkets, positioning them for high occupancy and rent growth, it added.

The medical clinics sector has been strong performing and proven to be highly resilient to economic downturns — with 99 per cent rent collection during the Covid-19 pandemic. The sector also benefits from population growth and the aging US population accompanied by an increase in healthcare expenditure, which accounted for nearly 19 per cent of the US GDP last year, GFH said.

“Aging populations and growth in outpatient care … continue to make the sector highly recession-resilient and unimpacted by economic cycles. We look forward to working with our partner Big Sky Medical to maximize the value of these assets,” Mr Mustafa said.

GFH’s partnership with Big Sky has resulted in a number of acquisitions totalling nearly $500M in the past six months. This transaction is the third in a series of joint acquisitions.

GFH Financial Group reported a 10 per cent increase in its second-quarter profit as investment banking income and income from co-investments rose as the company continues to boost its portfolio around the globe.

Net profit attributable to shareholders of the bank for the three months to the end of June climbed to $23.06M compared with $20.92M during the same period last year.

 

Source: The National News

Medical Office Real Estate Demand Is Outpacing Supply In Dallas-Fort Worth

/in , , /by

Medical office space vacancy rates in Dallas-Fort Worth are more than a percentage point below the five-year average as demand remains strong in the region, according to a report from Transwestern.

The report says that the DFW market is undersupplied, but as rents rise, new construction may become more feasible in the future. Interest rates and material costs are rising, which has slowed down all new construction, and the medical office building space is no different. While rent is growing, it hasn’t kept up with other costs, so underwriting for new construction has been more difficult. But if the limited medical office space remains with increasing population in the region, rent prices will rise until new construction can be justified, the report says.

Prior to the pandemic, Dallas was the country’s second-most active medical office building construction market, behind only New York.

“There’s a definite need for increased health care services, more hospital campuses, and more doctors’ offices, but also the real estate that can house them,” says Andrew Matheny, research manager for Transwestern. “When you set that against the construction levels that have been declining over the last couple of years, that’s going to be a significant driver of rents and new development here in the next few years.”

While square footage under construction and 12-month deliveries are down compared to a year ago in the medical office space, those figures could soon be trending in the opposite direction. Vacancy rates in DFW are at 10.2 percent and were 11.6 percent one year ago. Gross rents are also up nearly 3 percent compared to a year ago.

The healthcare market overall continues to grow. Employment for the hospital space is up 4 percent compared to a year ago and 10 percent for other ambulatory service markets. Total available space is at 13.8 percent, which is below the five-year average for the region.

“In the last three to six months, we’re starting to see transactions come through that are bringing revenue in line with these higher costs,” Matheny says. “That may need to happen here for another couple of quarters before we start seeing more groundbreaking projects.”

South Dallas, in-town Dallas, and along the Dallas North Tollway have some of the lowest vacancy rates in Dallas, though there are zero projects under construction in-town and South Dallas, with just 21,000 square feet under construction near the tollway. In the Frisco/Legacy region, there are more than 150,00 sf under construction, but it has one of the highest vacancy rates in the region, at 13. 9 percent. The East Dallas suburbs (17.3 percent) and Grapevine/Southlake (23.1 percent) have higher vacancy rates than Plano/Legacy.

If the market responds as Transwestern is predicting, the new hybrid work environment will probably play a factor.

“If people are spending more time at home, they’re probably going to prefer to see physicians and providers that are close to where they live, so we may see a geographic rebalancing of health care services close to where people live,” Matheny says.

This trend is already making waves with the growing presence of urgent care centers, retail clinics, and free-standing emergency rooms popping up closer to where people live. Hospitals, too, are moving more services away from central hubs and into ambulatory care facilities. It isn’t just more convenient; caring for people outside the hospital is also cheaper.

Telehealth has surged during and after the pandemic, but Matheny doesn’t see it significantly impacting the medical office market.

“While it may allow a physician to reach more people without coming in, physicians still need physical spaces where they can see their patients face to face,” Matheny says. “From a leasing perspective, it’s been a very busy medical office space. There is a demand for it, and I think people want to see their doctor in person.”

 

Source: D CEO Magazine