NexCore Group and CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System to develop Gisela Houseman Medical Campus, bringing vital healthcare services to Orange, Texas

NexCore Group, a national healthcare, life sciences and seniors housing real estate developer, and CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System today announced their plans to begin the initial development phase of the Gisela Houseman Medical Campus (GHMC). Phase I will be a two-story, 55,000-square-foot medical office building (MOB) in Orange.
 
NexCore, which is headquartered in Denver, says the mini-medical campus will fill the community need for healthcare services following the closure of Baptist Hospital Orange. The medical campus is strategically located with ingress/egress from U.S. Interstate10E and Texas State Highway 62, and will be designed to maximize campus connectivity, patient satisfaction and provider efficiency.
 
NexCore plans to break ground on the MOB in January 2022, with Phase I of the project comprising the MOB, with a majority of the first floor leased to CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System for a 24/7 emergency hospital and key outpatient and diagnostic services. The remaining space will be leased to independent physicians, including Dr. Marty Rutledge of Orange Medical Surgical Associates (a longstanding primary care physician in Orange, and 30-year pioneer in the county that has been the driving force behind the project). Phase I will be constructed on a 5.5-acre piece of the 20-acre parcel.
 
“NexCore is excited to provide quality and convenience to the citizens of Orange and surrounding communities through this critical healthcare development,” Todd Varney, NexCore’s Chief Development Officer, remarks. “The Gisela Houseman Medical Campus will become the epicenter of healthcare in Orange and provide an essential and convenient mini-campus venue for physicians to practice medicine and minimize the need to patients to travel 30 minutes or more for care.”
 
“It is fortuitous we get to announce the project during this season of giving. This development is a result of a large group effort to give back to Orange and the surrounding communities and has been enabled through many avenues of generosity, including the City, County, and private citizens,” Mr. Varney continues. “Together, NexCore, CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System, Ms. Houseman, Dr. Rutledge and the City and County of Orange are able to gift access to much needed healthcare services to the community. The land was contributed by Ms. Gisela Houseman. The campus is large enough to provide future growth. The Orange Economic Development Corporation has committed to bring infrastructure to the site and the County and City of Orange has also committed to a reduction in property taxes that will directly benefit the medical tenants through reducing their occupancy costs. Everyone has come together for the good of this community this holiday season.”
 
Setting the standard for progressive healthcare in Southeast Texas, CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System, is a Catholic, not-for-profit health care system that has been serving the needs of its communities including Beaumont, Port Arthur/Mid County, Jasper and others for more than 120 years. The fully integrated healthcare delivery system is an innovative leader in Southeast Texas and continues to adapt and change to meet the needs of the communities it serves. Following the values and mission of the founding Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word of Houston and San Antonio – to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ, this significant investment into the Orange community serves to affirm the mission and the system’s commitment to its fellow neighbors.
 
“We are pleased to announce that CHRISTUS Southeast Texas is making a major investment in the community and surrounding areas of Orange,” states Paul Trevino, President and CEO of CHRISTUS Southeast Texas Health System and CEO of CHRISTUS Ochsner Southwest Louisiana. Trevino adds, “Throughout our history, our ministry has been available to answer the call to fill a critical need to alleviate suffering, wherever possible. Our participation in this project exemplifies this philosophy, as we have partnered with the key stakeholders in Orange at their invitation to make this happen. The support of the community from the beginning of this process has been striking, and a key reason we decided to participate. We look forward to working closely with the community and our other partners to make this vision a reality.”
 
From a population standpoint, the county of Orange is the largest in Texas without hospital-based emergency healthcare services. The region is cut off by water from Beaumont, Texas, to the west and Lake Charles, La., to the east, forcing residents and employees in Orange to travel across bridges to access most of their healthcare needs. This can often be a logistical issue with traffic and natural disasters, primarily hurricanes and tropical storms that frequently occur in the region. The service area of more than 98,000 patients has a need for more than 95 full-time providers.
 
Planned services and amenities at GHMC include an emergency department/emergency hospital, imaging and diagnostic services, lab, primary care and specialty care clinics, collaboration/community education areas, and facilities support. A grand opening is anticipated in Spring 2023.
 
For leasing information at the Gisela Houseman Medical Campus, please contact Stacey Hall at 832-637-3773 or stacey.hall@nexcoregroup.com