University of Texas Development Updates

[Croon]

Originally Posted by ILUVSAT

Looks like the JJ Pickle research campus (across Burnet from Q2) is on the same "tract" of land as MCC and the undeveloped area around it on Stonelake Blvd. Interesting. I always thought those might be different tracts. I also didn't realize that the shopping center along the northbound frontage of MoPac (between 360 and Braker) is on UT land.

Shopping center you mention is The Shops at Arbor Walk. UT used to have a driving (golf) range there. Can be funky as westbound Braker Ln traffic likes to hang a U turn there at Mopac frontage so they can enter the shopping center entrance on the eastbound side. There's no gap in the median for left turns.

[Urbannizer]

Whitis Court

[ATX2030]

UT scraps plans for medical center at Erwin Center site, moves to North Austin

https://www.kut.org/health/2026-02-1...-center-domain

The University of Texas at Austin’s planned academic medical complex, which includes an MD Anderson Cancer Center location, will no longer be built at the site of the former Frank Erwin Center. It will instead be built at a site near the Domain in North Austin, UT Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife announced Wednesday.

“It became apparent that the proposed Erwin Center location would not be as conducive to the fully-integrated, patient centered approach that was being envisioned, and there would be limits to future growth on that site,” Eltife said at a board meeting.

He said the new site, located west of UT’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus, “makes all the sense in the world” for the medical complex.

Eltife first indicated late last year that UT Austin and MD Anderson leaders were considering moving the project. He said there is currently no concrete plan for the Erwin Center site, but that UT Austin President Jim Davis would announce an alternative direction for the site in the future.

“We couldn't be more excited about bringing this project forward, uniting UT MD Anderson's renowned cancer care with UT Austin's academic medical center and world class research enterprise,” Eltife said, calling the project “a once in a generation opportunity to define the future health care of Texas.”

The medical center complex is set to be complete by 2030.

[drummer]

Looking forward to seeing some plans on this for the area.

I'm also curious to see what then is done with the former Erwin Center site. I assume it will just be used for the medical school expansion - wasn't that the original plan before the hospital announcements?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by drummer

Looking forward to seeing some plans on this for the area.

I'm also curious to see what then is done with the former Erwin Center site. I assume it will just be used for the medical school expansion - wasn't that the original plan before the hospital announcements?

Yeah, UT needs room to expand their main campus. It won't be empty for too long, and I suspect they have some internal plans that they are not ready to announce.

[The ATX]

I just realized that I never posted this on SSP.

UT had an active site plan for Pickle West going through the approval process prior to the Med Center announcement. The project is/was quite extensive:

1850 RUs
4.4M Sq Ft of office space
165K Sq Ft of retail.

From the site plan:

https://x.com/TheATX1/status/2001065075545923686

[gillynova]

Jesus, 1850 residential units in that area is HUGE

[Syndic]

Originally Posted by drummer

Looking forward to seeing some plans on this for the area.

I'm also curious to see what then is done with the former Erwin Center site. I assume it will just be used for the medical school expansion - wasn't that the original plan before the hospital announcements?

Wait, isn't this announcement about the medical school plan moving to North Austin?

[texastarkus]

Originally Posted by Syndic

Wait, isn't this announcement about the medical school plan moving to North Austin?

From what I understand the only thing moving to North Austin is the MD Anderson Cancer Center and its associated hospital. The Dell/Seton hospital and the UT medical school will remain at their current location,

[drummer]

^ My understanding is the medical school will stay at UT downtown and expand into the Erwin Center site. MD Anderson and potentially a separate UT Austin hospital (from how I read the articles over the past year) would be up north. This is, I believe, different from the Dell hospital by UT. I could be incorrect on the latter point, but I really thought they were always talking about two additional hospitals.

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by drummer

^ My understanding is the medical school will stay at UT downtown and expand into the Erwin Center site. MD Anderson and potentially a separate UT Austin hospital (from how I read the articles over the past year) would be up north. This is, I believe, different from the Dell hospital by UT. I could be incorrect on the latter point, but I really thought they were always talking about two additional hospitals.

From what I can tell from various articles. Dell Seton is a separate campus that will remain downtown and *hopefully* expand further, although there are no current plans. The North campus will still have the two hospitals - MD Anderson and a UT cancer research facility that will work closely with MD Anderson.

[Syndic]

A couple practice facility renderings I hadn't seen yet. I'm glad they went with the lighter color. It should help to keep it cool. CDC also said it'll have real grass.

We're about 4 months away from this baby being completed.