Dallas-based professional services firm Jacobs has been selected as the owner’s program manager for a major pediatric medical campus led by Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The $5 billion campus broke ground in October 2024. Jacobs Executive Vice President Eva Wood described it as one of the largest and most transformative pediatric hospitals in the country.

“Healthcare infrastructure is essential to community wellbeing. It plays a vital role in supporting regional economic vitality, by attracting population growth and advancing deeper societal progress,” Wood said in a statement. “As Children’s Health and UT Southwestern look to deliver one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the nation, our consulting services will guide the new standard for compassionate care and experience.”

Wood said Jacobs brings deep global experience in healthcare infrastructure, with insights from more than 50 academic research centers and 15 children’s hospital campuses.

Meeting the growing demand for pediatric healthcare

Rendering: Children’s Health

In May, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Health announced a historic nine-figure gift from the Moody Foundation to support the new $5 billion pediatric campus in Dallas, which broke ground in October 2024. 

UTSMC and Children’s said new hospital will help meet the increasing demand for pediatric health care, research, and training. The Moody Foundation’s grant is the largest gift to date for the project.

In recognition of the support by the foundation, the hospital at the new Dallas pediatric campus will be named Moody Children’s Hospital upon completion in 2031.

Jacobs said that with the pediatric population in North Texas expected to double by 2050, the new campus will increase bed capacity by 38 percent, expand emergency department space, and add operating rooms, while offering the largest Level IV (Four) Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Dallas.

Jacobs said it will leverage insights from similar global program management experience — including the delivery of 50 academic research centers and 15 children’s hospital campuses — to provide advisory services across project management, on-site construction, and inspection for the new campus.

The new Dallas pediatric campus will be located in Dallas’ Southwestern Medical District, directly across from UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital. Rendering: Children’s Health

Across its three new towers, the new campus will include 552 total beds and a new fetal care center to offer one of the region’s most advanced, accessible fetal and maternal services, Jacobs said.

The company said that construction, which will account for 4.5 million square feet of space, began in late 2024, and the campus will feature more than 20 acres of green space, including a park, walking trails, and an open courtyard.

With roughly $12 billion in annual revenue and a team of almost 45,000, Jacobs said it provides end-to-end services in advanced manufacturing, cities and places, energy, environmental, life sciences, transportation, and water.

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