Seton Healthcare announced JE Dunn Construction Co. on Jan. 29 as the contractor for its $295 million teaching hospital, which will be located at East 15th and Red River streets near the University of Texas' future Dell Medical School.

Seton selected JE Dunn from 13 firms. In selecting a contractor, Seton said it considered safety records, quality of work, experience in building large-scale health care facilities with complex operational requirements, and a reputation for completing projects in a timely manner within budget.

JE Dunn, headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., has completed construction projects in Austin that include IBC Bank Plaza, 360 Condominiums on Nueces Street, ZACH Theatre and the YMCA North Austin Community Recreation Center. The company is also currently renovating Seton Northwest Hospital, located at 11113 Research Blvd.

Seton officials said construction could begin later this year and be completed in 2017. The teaching hospital is expected to have 210 beds and will replace University Medical Center Brackenridge.

The teaching hospital and medical school are expected to create 15,000 new jobs, excluding construction jobs, according to Seton. Partners for the medical school include Central Health (Travis County's health care district), Seton and UT.

Seton is funding the new teaching hospital and will pay for its operations. The facility will be built on land owned by UT and will be leased to Central Health, according to Seton.

UT named Dr. S. Claiborne Johnston as its first dean for the medical school on Jan. 21. Johnston is associate vice chancellor of research at the University of California, San Francisco and is a neurologist who has researched strokes.

Funding for the medical school includes a yearly $35 million investment from residents of Travis County as a result of Proposition 1, $50 million donated by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and other funding from UT.