The Lake Travis Specialty Hospital, vacant since it's 2011 completion, is now leased to Vibra Healthcare which plans to develop the site into a physical rehabilitation hospital, said Mike Soisson, senior vice president of development for Vibra Healthcare.

The approximately 58,000-square-foot hospital is located off RR 620, behind the Lakeway Post Office. Vibra Healthcare entered into a long-term lease with property owner Health Care REIT in September, Soisson said. Although the facility's opening is dependent on state and city government review of Vibra Healthcare's plans, the new hospital may open in the spring, he said.

Vibra Healthcare operates both long-term acute care and rehabilitation hospitals but Soisson said a rehabilitation model would be a better fit for the Lakeway market. The building that is currently in place has the capacity for 42 patient beds, he said.

Soisson said the hospital will be designed to serve all age groups and provide an intensive physical therapy program. He said the Lakeway area was chosen for the new facility based on data that reflected local residents travel to downtown Austin for this type of care rather than stay closer to home.

"The whole goal is to get them back home [after a stroke, accident, major medical issue] and to keep them home," he said. "[The program] is a wonderful level of care in terms of keeping people independent."