WHAT WE REPORTED The owner of the Bay Area Regional Medical Center, Medistar Corp., filed for bankruptcy in May, shuttering the Webster hospital, but the University of Texas Medical Branch quickly expressed interest in the building. UTMB officials in the summer signed a letter of intent to lease the 373,000-square-foot facility as part of their mission to provide health care, research medicine and educate students. THE LATEST UTMB will open the former Bay Area Regional Medical Center as UTMB Health Clear Lake Campus in late February or early March at 200 Blossom St., Webster, UTMB Public Information Officer Raul Reyes said. The lease agreement allows UTMB to use much of the equipment still in the facility, he said. “We’re making as much use out of the existing equipment as possible,” Reyes said. This story was updated Jan. 11, 2019, with a more accurate opening date.