Texas Medical Center opens TMC3 Collaborative Building, green space at Helix Park.
TMC Helix Park, the $1.5 billion medical research campus within the Texas Medical Center that’s positioned around a double-helix-shaped green space, is marking the opening of two projects within its 37-acre campus.
On Oct. 26, Gov. Greg Abbott, Mayor Sylvester Turner and leadership from the four founding institutions celebrated the grand opening of its TMC3 Collaborative Building and the six public parks that span more than half of the entire campus.
Outside of the new TMC3 Collaborative Building located off Old Spanish Trail. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)
The TMC3 Collaborative building incorporates research initiatives from the following institutions:
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Texas A&M University Health Science Center
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Texas Medical Center
Abbott said at the Oct. 26 event that Helix Park unites intellectual giants and titans of industries under the banner of scientific research.
Gov. Greg Abbott said at the Oct. 26 event that Helix Park unites intellectual giants and titans of industries under the banner of scientific research. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)
“This stage will serve groundbreaking discoveries and likely treatments right here in Houston, Texas,” Abbott said.
The details
The TMC3 Collaborative Building was designed by Boston-based Elkus Manfredi Architects, and Helix Park's green space was designed by award-winning international landscape architect Mikyoung Kim.
In addition to water features, the parks offer cafes, retail shops and other public spaces. Individual gardens will host outdoor receptions, concerts, graduations and events, according to TMC officials. When complete, the 37-acre Helix Park campus will also include:
Dynamic One, a 700,000-square-foot industry research building
Six future industry and institutional research buildings
A hotel
A residential tower
A mixed-use building with retail
William McKeon is the president and CEO of the Texas Medical Center. At the event, he invited the community to experience the Helix Park campus.
"Today, we lay the cornerstone of a new campus fully dedicated to streamlining the commercialization of life-changing innovations in medicine and technologies," McKeon said.
Zooming out
Turner discussed how the Medical Center benefitted from the investment of a tax increment reinvestment zone, in this case TIRZ 28.
The TIRZ entails approximately 1,332 acres that allows for the repair of public infrastructure, including water retention for the area and parking and transit solutions at the nearby Hermann Park.
Roughly 1,700 new trees were installed in May across Helix Park, which stretches 11 city blocks in total, connected by streets, sidewalks and bike lanes. Kristen Kupperman, vice president of real estate development at TMC, said when Houston is warm outside, the trees will offer guests a cooler space from the heat. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)
"In the end, in the final analysis, we thought it was a no-brainer because this area is expanding. Things will be taking place because of the TMC and Helix, and if you provide an added stimulant here, the whole city benefits, which is quite frankly for this TIRZ quite unique," Turner said.