Prevarian Cos. To Build 154K SF Medical District, Including A Full-Service Hospital, In Garland, Texas

Home to nearly 250,000 people, the city of Garland touts itself as a diverse community that emphasizes putting the needs of its residents first and foremost, yet it is missing one very important thing: a full-service hospital.

A hospital’s community reach extends far beyond medical care. Local and regional hospitals promote strong economic activity, and across the country, hospitals are responsible for nearly 16 million jobs, accounting for 1 in 9 total jobs in the U.S. Having access to nearby healthcare services is crucial for a city’s economic and physical well-being, and it’s something that one town in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is lacking. 

“Garland is the largest metro area in the DFW area that does not have acute care beds or a hospital-based emergency room,” said Allan Brown, partner at Prevarian Cos. “The Valoris Health Park seeks to fill this gap for our residents.”

Prevarian Cos., a healthcare real estate company that works to build environments fostering health and well-being, is spearheading the Valoris project. Based in Dallas, Prevarian builds medical centers, senior housing, rehabilitation centers and other healthcare facilities across the country.

Located next to the Garland VA hospital, Valoris Health Park is a 25-acre medical development that features two newly renovated medical office buildings: 530 Clara Barton and 601 Clara Barton. 

The buildings will be home to a wide variety of medical practices, including primary care, ENT, neurology, cardiology, a surgery center and dialysis services. Both buildings will feature a covered patient drop-off and competitive tenant improvement allowances. 

530 Clara Barton is a 75K SF building, originally built in 2006, that will offer first- and second-generation medical spaces available for rent, ranging between 1.7K SF and 26K SF. 

The medical district’s other renovated building, 601 Clara Barton, is a 69K SF building, built in 2002, that will have second-generation medical spaces available, ranging from 1.3K to 17.6K SF. A third 10K SF building is fully leased to DaVita Dialysis Center.

In addition to the existing buildings, Valoris Health Park includes a 6-acre vacant site where the full-service hospital will be developed, plus an additional 6 acres of land where Prevarian intends to develop medical office, retail and other uses to support the Health Park, its tenants and the surrounding Garland community, Brown said.

Prevarian’s vision for Valoris Health Park came to fruition when it purchased the old medical campus of Baylor Scott & White hospital, a hospital system that left the city in 2018. Its departure left behind a significant void for residents, with many in Garland resorting to using medical services in surrounding towns due to lack of immediate accessibility.

Partnering with Harrison Street, a Chicago-based alternative real estate investment firm, Prevarian bought the medical complex in 2021 and their plans to remodel, tear down and expand the existing medical campus became a reality. 

“The city’s medical district was looking a bit tired," Brown said. "It hasn't seen a lot of investment or upkeep, and that's changed already. First, we're remarketing and rebranding the property. Secondly, we’re investing in the land and the buildings on the campus. Lastly, we’re working with the city on getting a hospital presence back in Garland on this campus.”

In the near future, Prevarian plans to continue leasing the pre-existing clinical spaces to medical tenants. At the beginning of next year, it will conduct a market study in hopes of gaining a better understanding of which hospital system will be able to provide the care Valoris Health Park aims to bring to the city.

One of the biggest champions of the health park project has been Garland’s local government. With a location that’s central to many of the city’s residents, the Valoris Health Park will make Garland a better place to live, Brown said.

“Our partnership with the city has been a pleasure. It’s refreshing to work with a forward-thinking city like Garland,” Brown said. "There's a mutual respect and sense of trust between all of the partners of this development."

The city has helped Prevarian with making land available for growth on campus alongside incentivizing tenant prospects, Brown said.

According to Judson Rex, assistant city manager for planning and economic development at the city of Garland, the Garland medical district is a great example of the collaboration that is possible when all parties share a common goal.

"We know this is something the citizens of Garland and the folks who come to Garland to work want to see in the heart of this community," Rex said. "This area is improving in real time. Whether it's lighting improvements, landscaping improvements or the installation of public art, Valoris Health Park gets better every day, and this is just the beginning of our community goal to build this better, together.”

Like many medical developments, there will be an economic and social “ripple effect” throughout the entire community.

The strong industrial presence in Garland brings in approximately 80,000 out-of-town workers to the city every day, according to workforce data from the city's office of economic development. The health park is expected to bring more jobs, encouraging more businesses to flock to the area, from hotels, shops and restaurants to commercial businesses and more. 

Throughout the medical campus, the city’s public transportation system, DART, will continue to maintain and improve access to the medical facilities for all city residents, Brown said. Convenience and accessibility were two main concerns the medical center took into account when planning the new medical campus, and DART is helping Prevarian accomplish this goal.

“It’s simple,” Brown said. “Valoris Health Park is doing things now. We are accomplishing milestones every month and every quarter. There's going to be continual progress. Our aim is to make Valoris Health Park a regional medical center with a hometown feel.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and the city of Garland, Texas. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

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