Construction on Forney’s first-ever full-service acute care hospital, The Texas Health Forney Hospital, backed by Texas Health Resources,  has hit a major construction milestone with the topping out of its structure, marking significant progress on what represents one of the largest infrastructure undertakings in Forney’s recent history. The 245,000-square-foot hospital, located within the Village at Gateway development at U.S. 80 and Reeder Road, will open with 64 beds and include an emergency department with 17 rooms, a neonatal intensive care unit, a cardiology lab, and an 80,000-square-foot medical office building on the same campus. Designed by Beck Architecture LLC, the facility will offer a wide range of services including emergency care, women’s health, imaging, and surgical procedures. Texas Health Resources has set fall 2027 as the targeted opening date for the facility. The topping out ceremony marks the point at which the highest structural beam is placed, a centuries-old construction tradition that signals the building has reached its full height and that interior and envelope work can now proceed in earnest.

A Community That Has Outgrown Its Healthcare Infrastructure

Forney’s story is one that is becoming familiar across the suburban Sun Belt, explosive residential growth arriving faster than the public and private infrastructure needed to support it. Kaufman County ranks as the second-fastest-growing county in the country, and Forney led the nation for estimated population growth from 2020 to 2023 at 51.2%. That kind of growth is extraordinary by any measure, but it creates a particular strain when it comes to healthcare, which is among the slowest sectors to respond to demographic shifts due to the capital intensity, regulatory complexity, and long lead times involved in building hospitals. For years, Forney residents faced the same reality that many fast-growing exurban communities across North Texas know well: driving 20 to 30 minutes to reach an emergency department or specialist, often to facilities in Mesquite, Sunnyvale, or Dallas that were themselves operating near capacity.

The Texas Health Forney project is part of a broader pattern of health system expansion across North Texas, Texas Health Resources also recently announced a new hospital campus in north McKinney, while its Frisco hospital is building out its seventh floor and the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano is still going on with the $343 million expansion. This project features a new eight-story tower that will increase the facility’s licensed acute and critical care capacity to 400 beds, up from its current 230. Set to open in fall 2028, the tower will also include a rooftop helipad and advanced surgical suites for neuroscience and heart health, following the recent completion of a 696-space parking garage on the West Campus. The question worth asking is whether even this pace of expansion will be enough. With Forney’s growth showing no signs of slowing, a 64-bed hospital, however welcome, may itself require expansion within a decade of opening.

Project Fact Sheet

• Project name: Texas Health Forney Hospital
• Location: Village at Gateway development, U.S. Highway 80 and Reeder Road, Forney, Texas
• Owner/Developer: Texas Health Resources (Arlington-based nonprofit health system)
• Current milestone: Topping out of structure, April 2026
• Groundbreaking: April 28, 2025
• Expected completion: Fall 2027
• Project cost: Approximately $171 million (hospital); total campus investment reported at $320 million
• Total floor area: Approximately 245,000 square feet (hospital) + 80,000 square feet (medical office building)
• Site area: 50 acres along U.S. Route 80
• Initial bed capacity: 64 beds
• Full build-out capacity: Up to 115 beds
• Emergency department: 17 rooms
• Specialised units: Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), cardiology lab, ICU, intermediate care unit
• Services offered: Emergency care, labour and delivery, women’s health, surgical suites, advanced imaging, operating theatres
• Campus includes: Four-storey professional medical office building
• Significance: First full-service acute care hospital in the city of Forney
• Jobs to be created: Several hundred permanent positions upon opening
• Grid connection: Kaufman County, east of Dallas; 21 miles from downtown Dallas

Project Team

Ownership & Executive Leadership

• Owner: Texas Health Resources (Arlington, TX)
• Project Sponsor: Texas Health Resources Foundation (seeking community philanthropic support)
• Key Executives:
  • Barclay Berdan, FACHE: CEO, Texas Health Resources
  • Toya White: President and Chief Nursing Officer, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Kaufman (overseeing the project integration)
  • Levi Schmidt: Primary Owner Contact/Project Representative

Design & Architecture

• Lead Architect: The Beck Group (Beck Architecture LLC)
  • The Beck Group is providing integrated design services for the 245,000-square-foot hospital and the 80,000-square-foot medical office building.
• Registered Accessibility Specialist (RAS): Seun A. Akinwunmi (providing TAS/ADA compliance review)

Construction & Milestones

• General Contractor/Construction Manager: The Beck Group
  • The project is being delivered using Beck’s integrated design-build model, where they serve as both the architect and the builder.
• Milestone Reached: The “Topping Off” ceremony was held on April 8, 2026, marking the completion of the building’s highest structural point.
• Timeline: * Groundbreaking: April 28, 2025
  • Anticipated Completion: Summer/Fall 2027

Real Estate & Development Partners

• Master Developer (Villages at Gateway): Street Level Investments (spearheading the broader development area which includes H-E-B, Target, and Home Depot).
• Original Land Developer: Petro-Hunt LLC (The William Herbert Hunt family/Meadow Ridge Farm LP, from whom Texas Health purchased the 50-acre site).
• Municipal Partner: City of Forney (Economic Development Corporation and City Council).