University of Texas leaders are moving forward with a plan to build a future academic medical campus in North Austin.
On Wednesday, the university announced that the proposed University of Texas Medical Center would be located on land owned by University Land west of the J.J. Pickle Research Park in North Austin.
In 2023, leaders announced plans to build the facility on the site of the Frank Erwin Center in downtown Austin, which closed in May 2022. The UT System Board of Trustees also approved a project to pave the way for the expansion of the Dell Medical School.
The project includes the MD Anderson Cancer Center and a medical tower. University of Texas Board of Trustees Chairman Kevin Eltife called it one of the largest projects of a generation.
Back in November, Eltife announced that the university may be considering a larger, undeveloped site to the north of campus near The Domain.
“As our two institutions continued to work together, it became clear over the last year that the proposed Irving Center site would be detrimental to the fully integrated, patient-centered approach envisioned and that future growth at this location would be limited,” Eltif said at Wednesday’s board meeting.
Eltife said the new site would offer benefits not available at the city center site, including the possibility of further expansion in the future, while also clarifying that the revised plans meant there were currently no development plans for the old Frank Owen Center site.
Construction of the facility is expected to begin this year and be completed in 2030.
