Developer Sam Ware is poised to write a new chapter in Dallas history books about the old Parkland Hospital campus on Harry Hines Boulevard. Instead of razing the vacant complex and building sparkling modern structures adjacent to Parkland’s two-year-old $1.3 billion facility, Ware plans to preserve its history and transform the midcentury buildings into a giant mixed-use project. It’s poised to be one of the largest hospital redevelopments in the nation, according to the Dallas Morning News.

That Parkland campus is no stranger to capturing national attention and making history. When the nine-story, 588-bed medical center opened in 1954, it was recognized as a skyscraper and one of the finest public hospitals in the U.S. After President John F. Kennedy was shot in Downtown Dallas nine years later, he was transported to Parkland where a team of doctors tried futilely to save him. And the following year, many of the same UT Southwestern medical team performed the first kidney transplant in the Southwest.

Map courtesy of Southwestern Medical District

Ware has had the 38-acre complex under contract for several months, which includes over a dozen buildings along with parking garages and raw land. He plans to close on the deal as soon as early April. 

"We're calling it the District," Ware said. "Everybody else wanted [to] buy this for the land and tear it down. I wanted the buildings. Our team can add another 100 years of life to it." 

Though Ware’s plan calls for razing a few small buildings, he’s working with Dallas architect firm HKS to convert about 750,000-square-feet of salable and leasable space into offices, restaurants, retail, a hotel, and a variety of housing options. 

"Nothing of this scale and complexity has been done, and it was one of the reasons we got excited about it," Bryan Trubey, executive vice president with HKS, told the Dallas Morning News. "This is a chance to actually turn it into a three-dimensional live, work, and play environment that's not narrowly focused on medical." 

A large chunk of the redevelopment will include 700 to 800 micro rental units with slightly less than 300-square-feet of space. In addition to a health club, conference center, and assisted living, the District will contain an extended stay hotel for patients and families who need easy access to the medical district. One building will house for-sale condos in the 1,000-square-foot range, and a small park will be the community’s centerpiece.

Ware has a track record of successfully recycling real estate. In 2016, his Dreien Opportunity Partners paid over $350 million to buy the JC Penney headquarters and adjoining land in Plano. He sunk another $60 million into converting the 1.8 million-square-foot campus into a multi-tenant complex with Penney occupying less space. 

Now he’s close to sealing the deal on his Collin Creek Mall purchase in Plano. He’s working on a nearly $1 billion plan that would give the old mall the look and feel of the River Walk in San Antonio. Since Spring Creek is buried beneath the mall, Ware wants to uncover it and align 500,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, and open space with the waterway.