Rachel Brown of Jones Lang LaSalle

San Diego-based Advanced Particle Therapy is building a 100,000-square-foot, $225 million proton therapy center in Dallas. UT Southwestern Medical Center has signed a letter of intent to operate the facility, which will be built near its Medical District campus off Stemmons Freeway.

Discussions about the project began about six years ago, says Jeff Bordok, APT’s president and CEO, after the company determined there was a “substantial need” for a center in Dallas. The market also made sense, he said, because of the its central U.S. location, international airport, ample supply of hotels near the center’s site, and UT Southwestern’s reputation.

The proton center will be built on a 4.5-acre site APT is acquiring from Crow Holdings.  Construction will get under way in early 2013 and take about 36 months. The project, which will have four treatment vaults and laboratory space for researchers, is being designed by Perkins + Will. APT has not yet selected a general contractor, Bordok said.When complete, it will be the second center of its kind in Texas, and one of just nine nationwide.

“It’s will be of tremendous value to have this type of resource and treatment center in our own back yard,” said Rachel Brown of Jones Lang LaSalle, who’s representing APT in the project. “It will have a huge impact on our community.”

Brown said APT had a clear vision of where it wanted the project to be located.

“It will attract patients from all over the world,” she said. “They wanted it to have hotels nearby and for patients to be able to go play golf and have some quality time while they’re in Dallas for their treatment. Being centrally located was a big priority.”

For complete details on the new proton therapy center, see Steve Jacob’s exclusive report at D Healthcare Daily.