The cities of Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio have been selected as home to the ARPA-H “Customer Experience Hub,” one of three hubs in the United States conceived to help support and generate better health outcomes.
ARPA-H is an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It has a $2.5 billion budget to execute a mission of accelerating better health outcomes for everyone by supporting the development of high-impact solutions to today’s most challenging health problems. These include cancer, Alzheimer’s and AIDS, as well as equitable health care delivery and cost containment.
While Austin, Houston and San Antonio will play supporting roles for the Texas hub, Dallas has been selected to serve as Texas headquarters, one of three national headquarters. Two other hubs, each with individual missions within ARPA-H, will be located in Washington, D.C., and Boston. Operation and management of the Texas hub will be undertaken from dedicated offices at Pegasus Park through the services of Advanced Technology International, a private company that helps federal agencies deliver technology and processes.
The selection of Texas is the result of a two-year state-wide collaboration that included biotechnology ventures, hospital systems, research institutions and economic development organizations.
“The Customer Experience Hub, one of three physical hubs established across the nation that forms part of the new ARPANET-H health innovation network, will drive user testing, adoption, access for ARPA-H projects; enhance clinical trials; reach representative patient populations; and capture outcomes data,” the organization announced.
The selection of Texas as a key location has been greeted enthusiastically across all levels of government and health services.
“ARPA-H’s decision to locate the customer service hub in Texas is continued validation that the state’s leadership reputation in research, development, and technological innovation is well earned,” said Wayne Roberts, CEO of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
This is the latest in a recent series of significant expansions announced by Pegasus Park that is bringing new investment in the life sciences industry to the Dallas area.
Located in the northwest of the city, Pegasus Park is a 26-acre future-focused campus dedicated to innovative companies and organizations across science, technology, health care and social impact. The facility also offers its tenants shared amenities such as a 16,000-square-foot flexible conference and social space, a state-of-the-art gym, outdoor fire pits and restaurants.
Pegasus Park currently has 750,000 square feet of space renovated back in 2020 and which opened the next year. Its major tenant is BioLabs, a membership-based co-working facility offering life science firms 37,000 square feet of flexible space that includes state-of-the-art pre-flexible lab, training, and office space.
Some of these biotech and life science firms and non-profit organizations are based at the Water Cooler at Pegasus, home to 35 social impact organizations across five floors and 175,000 square feet of space. The Water Cooler is one of the largest non-profit shared spaces in the country and is sponsored by Lyda Hill Philanthropies in partnership with J. Small Investments and Montgomery Street Partners, and managing partner The Dallas Foundation.
Earlier this year, the park received $8 million in grants and property tax abatement incentives from Dallas City Council for its new Bridge Labs development, in support of the next step in the park’s growth.
Bridge Labs is part of an initiative to attract life science and biotech jobs to the north Texas area.
Project costs are estimated to be $110 million. The completed facility is expected to open in 2024 and will offer the region’s first institutional-quality, non-incubator space in the region, along with prebuilt lab suites for on-campus life sciences companies.
“Bridge Labs is a vital step in the evolution of the Dallas life sciences ecosystem,” said Sam Johnson, principal of Montgomery Street Partners, an affiliate of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, which along with J. Small Investments, owns Pegasus Park.
“By providing first-of-its-kind, next-generation space, Pegasus Park is continuing to advance the development of a thriving research hub. This project directly complements the burgeoning activity from BioLabs and other on-campus initiatives.”
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