TCU Medical School announces new Near Southside campus to open in 2024
In the shadow of Texas Health Harris Methodist hospital, a critical addition to Fort Worth’s medical district will soon take shape.
On the vacant lot at the corner of South Henderson and Wesr Rosedale streets, TCU Medical School announced Monday it is building a campus in the Near Southside.
Students, faculty and local political leaders lauded the announcement as an exciting next step in the growth of TCU Medical School.
“It feels like a confidence boost in TCU as an institution,” said first-year medical student Ethan Vieira.
Third-year medical student Dilan Shah won’t get to experience the new medical center before graduating, but, as a member of the school’s first class, “It’s going to be exciting to come back and see the legacy” of the school’s growth.
The new four-story, 100,000-square-foot medical education center will contain classrooms, offices and labs for the school’s 240 students and staff. The first building is expected to be completed in 2024.
Renderings of the project displayed Monday show potential future growth of the campus, which could include facilities like student housing.
The medical school’s move to Fort Worth’s Medical District puts it near Tarrant County’s major hospitals, including Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center, JPS Health Network, Cook Children’s Health Care System and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.
“We are grateful to TCU for the vision of an innovative medical school that thrives on collaborations within our community. Already our partner in Graduate Medical Education, we look forward to the many opportunities to come as the TCU School of Medicine moves to its new home in the hospital district,” said Mike Sanborn, president of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center.
The proximity to hospitals will be convenient for medical students on rotations, said Chancellor Victor J. Boschini Jr.
“Symbolically, it says we’re part of the medical district,” he said.
The location of the future campus in 76104, the ZIP code with the state’s lowest life expectancy, is also critical to addressing the city’s health disparities, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said Monday.
While Dallas-Fort Worth is poised to become the third largest metro in the country, Parker said, “We will never be successful if we don’t focus on the health and vitality of those most vulnerable.” The choice of location “speaks to what they’re trying to do” in educating a generation of doctors to put people first.
Plans for a new campus follows news of the school’s institutional divorce with founding partner UNT Health Science Center in January.
According to the separation agreement, the TCU Medical School will continue to use space in the HSC Interdisciplinary Research and Education Building. TCU is leasing 60,000 square feet of space from HSC at $180,250 per month and pays an additional monthly $32,629 in maintenance and operations fees,and $11,441 in security fees — for a total of nearly $225,000 per month. The lease ends in August.
TCU Medical School plans to lease a temporary space in the future, but will continue to conduct classes at both UNTHSC and TCU.
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 4:50 PM.
