Construction to coincide with Wade Park, Cowboys development

The Dallas-based Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children has chosen Frisco to build its first branch facility. Construction could begin as early as spring 2015 on an ambulatory care center on the northeast corner of Lebanon Road and the Dallas North Tollway, TSRHC President and CEO Robert Walker said.

The construction will coincide with two other major developments that have already broken ground near the DNT.Wade Park will be on the southeast corner of Lebanon Road and the DNT and the Dallas Cowboys headquarters and multiuse events center will be on the northwest corner of Warren Parkway and the DNT.

All three developments are expected to open sometime in 2016.

TSRHC's approximately 100,0000-square-foot care center in Frisco will be an extension of the original Dallas campus and will initially be used for outpatient services and day surgeries for children with orthopedic issues, Walker said.

Walker said TSRHC chose Frisco primarily because about 25 percent of the hospital's patients are from areas north of Dallas.

"We have a pocket [of patients around Frisco] that are referred here, and of course hearing about and anticipating the future growth of that area, it appears that there is going to continue to be a great need in that area for the services we provide," Walker said.

Throughout the past year the TSRHC board looked for land and settled on 40 acres in Frisco—enough for the campus to expand in the future if needed as well as for any community endeavors the hospital might undertake, Walker said.

The care center could employ about 75 to 100 people—a combination of new hires and current Dallas hospital employees, Walker said.

"That number [of employees] could grow as activity level increases at the facility," Walker said.

The care center will be a point of access for patients to be seen for many of the same issues and treatments they would be seen for at the main campus, including day surgeries, but on an all-outpatient basis in the beginning, he said.

TSRHC is also planning for a sports treatment program to occupy the Frisco facility.

Walker said the fact that Frisco is a hub for youth sports played a role in the decision to build the center in the city, but that "it really is to serve our existing families in a more convenient way, and then also future families that would move into that area."

Walker said the TSRHC board has been discussing building a hospital branch for the past year and has been working with the city of Frisco and the Frisco Economic Development Corp.

Walker said the architects and contractors who worked on the existing hospital, HKS Architects and Beck Contractors, will also design and build the Frisco location.

Dallas Cowboys and Wade Park

The Wade Park development and the Dallas Cowboys headquarters and multiuse event center both held ground breaking ceremonies in August.

In addition to the 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market store already announced, Wade Park also in late August announced two more major tenants.

Pinstripes Inc. is an entertainment venue that combines bowling and bocce ball in a cafe-like atmosphere. iPic Theaters is a luxury movie theater with two different options for dining while watching movies.

Both will be included in the first phase of the project in spring 2016.