A medical facility long planned by Texas Health Resources in Parker County could be nearing reality.
THR, parent of the Harris Methodist and Presbyterian hospital groups in North Texas, bought about 30 acres on the north side of Interstate 20 in Willow Park in 2010. City officials had previously said they hoped a facility might be built in 2012.THR spokesman Wendell Watson said company officials have talked to Willow Park's City Council and zoning commission "about possible plans for the property, but we have not filed a site plan. No decision has been made, though we are in the final stages of evaluating what might be the best use of this site for delivering healthcare services to Willow Park."Watson said a facility most likely "would be similar to what we built in Burleson," which he called an "integrated campus." Texas Health Burleson is a 53,000-square-foot complex that includes an outpatient facility, emergency department, and primary and specialty physicians."The Texas Health Resources Board has not yet approved any plans for the site. We expect that to happen in early 2013," Watson said last week.In November, THR representatives showed Willow Park officials preliminary plans for a campus starting as early as 2014, the Weatherford Democrat reported last month.Those plans included a 40,000-square-foot campus, starting with an emergency department, imaging center and medical office building. Eventually, the project could grow to a hospital with perhaps 40 beds, but not until after 2020 and only as demand warrants, the newspaper reported.Food-processing siteThe Mansfield Economic Development Corp. has been busy making sure a longtime employment center, the former home of Simeus Foods International, doesn't disappear.Founded by Haitian native Dumas Simeus, who in 2006 tried to run for president of that country, the food processor for years was a major Mansfield employer with as many as 400 workers. But when the company went through a couple of ownership changes, the 140,000-square-foot facility began shrinking until it was finally shuttered this year, said Scott Welmaker, the city's economic development director."It went on the market, and we worked with a broker to find a tenant" who could use the specialized facility, which includes 40,000 square feet of freezer space -- "not a real broad-based need," Welmaker said of the freezer. But it was soon discovered that the building "was in an advanced state of disrepair," he said."As we showed people the building, they saw the cost of bringing it up to USDA standards as real expensive," Welmaker said. Finally, California-based Don Lee Farms decided the facility might fit its need for a central U.S. food-processing plant, Welmaker said, but there was still the matter of the repairs, such as a new roof.In October, the Mansfield City Council approved $1.8 million in incentives over five years to Don Lee Farms.Welmaker said the company signed a contract last week to fix the roof.In return for the incentives, Don Lee Farms agreed to employ 250 people within 10 years at the rate of 25 a year, something Welmaker thinks it will have no problem fulfilling because the company needs a good number of workers just to get started."I'm hopeful they will find some of the former Simeus workers," he said, although most have probably moved by now.On its website, Don Lee Farms describes itself as "one of the nation's leading producers of fully cooked fresh and frozen foods" and as a supplier to Costco, Sam's Club and Wal-Mart Stores.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727sabaker@star-telegram.comJim Fuquay, 817-390-7552jfuquay@star-telegram.comBarry Shlachter, 817-390-7718barry@star-telegram.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
