BY HALEY VELASCO
Put in perspective
What’s next
People living near the hospital
While the original goal was to open the hospital by October, Thomas said he hopes to open by the end of the year. He said it has taken over a year to build the microhospital due to regulations and permitting. As of late May, a visit to the site showed work on the interior had not yet begun and workers were still constructing the exterior. On the architectural side, the development has come across challenges due to higher wind load and ooding requirements with the facility being in a “coastal area,” said Stephen Wang, managing principal for BB&W Architects. Supply chain prices have also a ected construction, Wang said. “There’s been some price escalation and supply chain challenges because we’re coming out of [the COVID-19 pandemic], [which delayed] certain materials,” Wang said. “Those are challenges that are faced by everybody.”
Estimates from real estate demographics rm CoStar show the hospital will be within 10 minutes of nearly 90,000 people. It’s projected that num- ber will increase by 2.8% over the next ve years, data from the rm shows. In addition to being closer to people in the community, Thomas said his hospital will bring more than 100 jobs to the city, allowing more res- idents to both work and live in Friendswood. The hospital will also provide property tax revenue to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, Thomas said. However, he declined to specify what that exact amount might be since the hospital is not yet built. In a May 21 email, Thomas talked about his e orts to bring other types of facilities into Friendswood as well. Those include memory care and medspa facilities that he opened in 2021 and 2023, respectively. He also plans to open senior living and assisted living facilities by 2024 and 2025, respectively.
586,378
181,251
72,417
11,101 1 mile
3 miles
5 miles
10 miles
SOURCE: COSTAR DEMOGRAPHICS COMMUNITY IMPACT
Friendswood has no nancial contributions to the hospital, but city o cials said they appreciate Thomas’ contributions to the city. “We ... believe [Thomas’] facilities are a great asset to the city,” Rhea said in an email.
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PEARLAND FRIENDSWOOD EDITION
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