However, some city planners are hoping to receive more assurance from the health care company before approving the necessary zoning requests.
What you need to know
Pearland City Council voted unanimously at its June 9 meeting to approve the first reading of a request by Houston-based civil engineering firm Dunaway to rezone 35 acres of land along Pearland Parkway from single-family residential to general commercial.
Kelsey-Seybold said it intends to develop the land for a medical clinic. The land is divided into two parcels, north and south of Pearland Parkway, across from Shallow Creek Drive, according to agenda documents.
Why it matters
Kelsey-Seybold's Senior Director of Operations Stuart Cayer said the healthcare system aims to be within a 10-minute radius of every current and future patient.
“We have a big swath of land between our clinic on the west side of the freeway and then towards Clear Lake and League City,” Cayer said. “This puts us right where we need to be. It opens up ... our system to other communities, not just eastern Pearland, but Friendswood and other parts of the county and other cities.”
The impact
The clinic will likely be between two and three stories and create around 150 jobs, Cayer said.
Cayer added that Kelsey-Seybold hopes to expand by building other clinics nearby, similar to its Bay Area campus along I-45 in Webster.
The Bay Area campus started out as a single clinic, which Kelsey-Seybold expanded to include a larger building and a cancer center, both of which opened in 2024.
Those opposed
Several council members expressed hesitation in approving the zoning request without Kelsey-Seybold purchasing the land, citing the risk that the land could then be sold or remain undeveloped.
“We’re zoning the dirt, and Kelsey could flip this tomorrow, not that they would,” council member Tony Carbone said. “I'm fully supportive of Kelsey, but we're zoning dirt here, and so if you're asking me to vote yes on Kelsey, great. If it was anybody else, probably not.”
Mayor Kevin Cole suggested tying the second and final reading of the zoning request to Kelsey-Seybold’s actual purchase of the property. However, city legal staff advised against tying the vote to the closing but acknowledged City Council could delay the second reading.
Trent Perez, Dunaway principal and former Pearland city council member, said the closing would likely happen four weeks after the zoning request is approved.
Looking ahead
City Council will hear the second reading of the zoning request at its June 23 meeting.
