Lakeway hospital opening in April

"If I didn't have a hospital close, the outcome might have been different," he said. "We're excited to be able to offer that same kind of real high level of service so close to home."

The 274,500-square-foot LRMC will offer a wide variety of services and specialties, including cardiology and cardiothoracic work, women's health, physical therapy and sports medicine, gastrointestinal, respiratory and speech-language pathology services. There will be 20 emergency rooms, six operating rooms and two cesarean section suites. The hospital will have state-of-the-art equipment and electronic medical records.

The hospital's primary service area will be the approximately 100,000 people in Lakeway and surrounding areas.

"This [hospital] really satisfies a need that's out here," DeOme said.

Employment

LRMC is expected to become the biggest Lakeway employer, Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce President Laura Mitchell said.

The medical center will employ approximately 250 people when it opens, with about 110 of those being doctors. The medical center could employ 500 people by the end of the first year as it grows and 1,000 people after the third year, Kreye said.

Kreye said LRMC has been getting about 15 resumes a day through its website. He said a majority of the resumes are from highly qualified professionals in the Austin area.

"We are really excited there are so many well-trained, high-end professional folks right here that are willing and excited about the project and want to serve their community and have real true high-quality health care right here at home," he said.

Real estate professionals have expressed excitement about LRMC.

Keller Williams Realty Lake Travis broker and team leader Mary Lynne Gibbs said in addition to the possibility of having LRMC employees move to the area, having a hospital nearby can be a selling point for many potential residents.

"As we mature, having a hospital close by is one of the factors people take into account when they're buying a home," she said.

Mitchell added that the LRMC economic benefit extends beyond the real estate market.

"It means they will shop out here, they will eat out here, they will buy gas out here," she said of the increase in people LRMC will bring to the area.

Economic predictions

A wide range of economic forecasts have been issued on the medical center, with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimating in 2010 that the center project could bring more than $450 million to the area and support 2,429 full-time jobs. A study by a University of Texas graduate student said that by Phase 4, which is expected to begin in 2017 and expand the hospital from 240 beds to 400 beds, LRMC would annually generate $424 million for the region.

In addition to LRMC, the 54-acre development it will anchor will generate more revenue. Additional medical office buildings, a hotel and retail spaces have been named as potential parts of the development. The developer of the surrounding area is expected to release more details on the project in January.

DeOme said studies have shown that LRMC and the surrounding project is expected to generate more than $200 million in property tax revenue, which would be more than 10 percent of Lakeway's current base property value of $1.4 billion.

Meanwhile, Kreye has been proactively downplaying economic impact projections until April approaches.

"As we get closer [to opening], it's easier to make those assumptions a little bit tighter, and then it's easier to calculate what the true economic impact would be," he said.

Traffic

Kreye said residents should expect an increase in traffic around LRMC on RR 620. But he added that LRMC will likely try to stagger employees' shifts so they don't overlap with when students arrive and leave nearby schools.

Point of Origin owner Jaime Bush, whose business is near the hospital along RR 620 at 2300 Lohmans Spur, said while she doesn't like congestion on the highway, she is more excited about the potential increase in foot traffic to her business.

Mitchell had similar thoughts and said LRMC is ultimately going to be good for the area.

"I think we're all going to have to be kind of patient with the traffic," she said. "I think the good of the boon to the economy certainly outweighs the congestion."