Woodlands: growth drives $850M health care building boom

THE WOODLANDS – Health care providers are collectively investing $850 million in facility construction and expansion to keep up with the rising demand for services.

Montgomery County’s population jumped from 453,000 in 2010 to nearly 520,000 in 2014, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and is expected to double to a million by 2035.

The growth has been highly concentrated in South Montgomery County, spilling over into north Harris County with the addition of the Exxon Mobil Corp. campus and other corporate office locations.

Already the second largest non-retail employment sector in The Woodlands, the health care industry is poised to give energy — the top employment sector — a run for its money in the coming years.

Health care accounted for 18 percent of non-retail jobs in 2014, trailing energy’s 32 percent.

More health care providers indicates more options when it comes to where to go for care and treatment, also inducing a leap in the number and quality of services provided close to home.

By the numbers:

• Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital is undergoing $42.4 million in expansion and renovations.
• Houston Methodist Hospital System is investing $328 million in a 470,000-sf, 193-bed hospital.
• Texas Children’s Hospital is building a $360 million, 548,000-sf facility.
• CHI St. Luke’s Health is constructing a $120 million medical campus in Springwoods Village.
• Total investment in facility construction and expansion: $850.4 million.

Read more at Houston Chronicle.