The old Red Bird Mall is now home to UT Southwestern, which signed a 15 year lease to take over the area that used to be Sears.
A big name in healthcare has announced plans to move into the old RedBird Mall, hoping to bring the economic boost attempted so many times before.
UT Southwestern Medical Center will expand south with a 15-year lease of the 150,000 square foot space once held by Sears.
It will become one of the anchors for the Reimagine RedBird project now four years in the making.
"As part of our mission to improve the health of our community, we are excited by the opportunities presented by this redevelopment effort to bring additional medical services to those living and working in southern Dallas," said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern.
The outpatient facility will offer specialty care with a planned emphasis on cancer, cardiovascular and neurological conditions.
Podolsky says they’ll also invite community leaders to share input on what they’d like to see offered at the facility.
Reimagine RedBird majority owner Peter Brodsky says the move to add a healthcare facility to a mall isn’t unusual citing examples in places like Nashville and Jackson, Mississippi.
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“I think we’re on the early end of the trend. I think that as more and more mall owners see what’s possible and more and more medical centers see the advantages of it, I think this is something you’ll see happen around the country,” said Brodsky.
He calls the partnership a win for everyone, giving UT Southwestern a big stake in a community with a lot of supply and not enough demand when it comes to healthcare services and giving the surrounding area a big vote of confidence.
“For a variety of reasons, the general consensus and the conventional wisdom about southern Dallas is that it’s a uniformly poor area of town that is to be given philanthropy but not to be taken seriously as a commercial market. We don’t see it that way and the demographics absolutely prove out that it’s a viable market,” said Brodsky.
UT Southwestern plans to open the new facility in 2021.
