Work starts on first of 2 health clinics

Houston Methodist and Legacy Community Health broke ground Friday on a $20 million health clinic in Pasadena, the first of two projects the organizations are bringing to underserved areas of the Houston metro.

Legacy is expanding into Pasadena and Acres Homes for the first time, thanks to a $50 million gift from Houston Methodist, which also donated land for the clinics.

The 40,000-square-foot Pasadena clinic is expected to serve about 50,000 patients in the area. Designed by Kirksey Architects, the two-story clinic will open in October 2025 at 1951 Southmore.

As a federally qualified health clinic, Legacy provides services to any patient regardless of their ability to pay.

Legacy Pasadena Southmore Clinic will offer a full range of affordable health care services including adult and pediatric primary care, obstetrical services, behavioral health, comprehensive HIV care, specialty care and dental services.

Legacy plans to break ground on its Acres Homes clinic in the fall at 3011 West Gulf Bank.

The clinics are part of a wave of expansions health care systems are making to respond to Houston’s population growth in the suburbs.

At the end of 2023, there were just under 1 million square feet of medical office space under construction in the Houston area, including projects such as Houston Methodist’s new hospital in Cypress and multiple projects by Kelsey-Seybold Clinic and Memorial Hermann, according to real estate firm Transwestern.

Within the Houston area, the 290 Corridor, Clear Lake, The Woodlands and Sugar Land submarkets were witnessing the strongest gains in medical office space construction, according to Transwestern.