Whiting-Turner Construction Co. nears completion of $645M Dallas State Hospital, set to open in spring. Project funded by legislature and Children’s Health will feature 200 adult and 92 pediatric beds, modern facilities designed for therapeutic environment and future regulatory compliance. HHSC also building $573M Terrell State Hospital.
Texas Health and Human Services Commission photo
The Dallas State Hospital construction site
Whiting-Turner Construction Co. is just months away from delivering the $645.44 million new state hospital in Dallas — the Dallas State Hospital (DSH), a project initiated by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).
The plan is to open the adult facility first, followed by the pediatric section.
The groundbreaking ceremony occurred on Dec. 5, 2022. Construction on the adult wing is estimated to be complete this July, and the pediatric wing is expected to be ready in spring 2026. The psychiatric hospital will have 200 adult and 92 pediatric beds.
The project is part of the state's comprehensive plan to expand inpatient psychiatric beds.
"Texas is making an unprecedented investment in helping people with serious mental illness," HHS Executive Commissioner Cecile Erwin Young said in a news release. "When complete, this much-needed hospital will offer hope, healing and recovery for the most vulnerable Texans living in the surrounding Metroplex."
The project's financing stems from $384.44 million approved by the Texas Legislature. An additional $261 million contribution provided by Children's Health financed the construction of the pediatric wing.
Planning for the hospital began about 10 years ago.
"The Dallas State Hospital will bring a modern inpatient psychiatric center to the Dallas-Fort Worth area," said Emily Hummel, HHSC spokesperson. "It will also help increase overall state hospital capacity significantly."
Designed by HKS Inc., the hospital is being constructed on 15 acres of land. It will have activity rooms for arts and crafts, gardening and more secure outdoor areas, and areas to support clinical programs and patient health. The new buildings include private rooms, common areas, outdoor courtyards and the use of natural light to promote recovery and healing. A parking garage is being built for staff and visitors.
"One of the biggest considerations is our regulatory compliance, which has more than 2,000 standards that must be met as well as best practices for psychiatric treatment and a therapeutic environment for patients," Hummel said. "We expect the new Dallas State Hospital to serve Texans for many decades to come. The building will not be certified, but some LEED-type features will be incorporated into the building."
In the adult wing, construction is estimated at 88 percent complete.
"Permanent power has been activated by Oncor," said Hummel. "Boilers have been started up, and warm air is blowing in the building. Installation of building finishes including flooring, millwork, doors and interior glass and is progressing at various stages in the patient towers. A mockup patient room is complete, and courtyard paving and site paving are progressing."
Construction of the pediatric wing is estimated at 55 percent complete:
"Drywall work is progressing with the completion of the in-wall MEP work throughout the building," said Hummel. "Installation of building finishes including flooring, millwork, doors and interior glass is progressing at various stages in the patient towers."
Construction crews are using excavators, dozers, loaders, large crawler cranes, manlifts, telehandlers and other standard pieces of equipment.
The construction site provided large spaces to operate, store equipment and materials, set up field offices and establish a layout yard.
The ample space was crucial for the earthwork and site prep operations which house the multistory buildings. Before building construction, site prep including installing the underground services and preparing the areas for the foundations, which required multiple concrete pours.
The amounts for materials excavated and new materials brought in have not been finalized.
Another Project
DHS isn't the only hospital under construction in Texas: The HHSC also initiated the building of the $573 million Terrell State Hospital in August 2024.
Contractors Robins & Morton expect to achieve substantial completion there in 2027. The three-story, 415,000-sq.-ft. building is located on a 160-acre campus site in the city of Terrell.
"This groundbreaking ceremony for the new state hospital in Terrell is a step forward in Texas' ongoing efforts to expand and modernize state facilities that offer behavioral health treatment to Texans," said Gov. Greg Abbott in a news release. "Since 2017, Texas has provided more than $2.5 billion to build, renovate and improve our state hospitals."
The new hospital will have 250 beds (165 non-maximum-security, 50 maximum-security, and 35 adolescent). Adult and adolescent patients will have separate living areas, and the maximum-security unit will include strict security measures to ensure the safety of patients, staff and the community.
The existing hospital serves 31 counties in North Texas.
Planning began when HHSC received funding from the 88th Texas Legislature in 2023.
The spaces will align with evidence-based treatment. The new building includes private rooms designed to balance privacy and security for patients, and common activity areas will encourage social interaction. Natural light throughout the facility will help promote recovery and healing.
"The Terrell State Hospital's cutting-edge approach to inpatient psychiatric care includes areas that will help teach practical life skills such as a teaching kitchen, gardens and a greenhouse, a library where patients can practice computer skills and more," Hummel said. "Secure outdoor courtyards and terraces will allow patients to spend time outdoors while providing a private and secure environment for the patients and staff."
The new hospital, designed by CannonDesign, is sited on the same campus as the existing hospital that opened in July 1885.
"The exterior design of the new hospital strikes a balance of creating a new image that elevates and complements the established historical context," Hummel said. "The massing of the building balance transparency with privacy, and the material selected will create an image that is both familiar and inspiring. The use of red and grey ultra-high performance concrete panels connects the building to the existing campus. A wide and tall high-performance curtain wall glazing system and metal panel wall system give the building a modern look."
This is the second large-scale hospital replacement project that Robins & Morton has led for HHSC in the last five years. The company delivered the Rusk State Hospital in 2023.
(All photos courtesy of Texas Health and Human Services Commission.)
Irwin Rapoport
A journalist who started his career at a weekly community newspaper, Irwin Rapoport has written about construction and architecture for more than 15 years, as well as a variety of other subjects, such as recycling, environmental issues, business supply chains, property development, pulp and paper, agriculture, solar power and energy, and education. Getting the story right and illustrating the hard work and professionalism that goes into completing road, bridge, and building projects is important to him. A key element of his construction articles is to provide readers with an opportunity to see how general contractors and departments of transportation complete their projects and address challenges so that lessons learned can be shared with a wider audience.
Rapoport has a BA in History and a Minor in Political Science from Concordia University. His hobbies include hiking, birding, cycling, reading, going to concerts and plays, hanging out with friends and family, and architecture. He is keen to one day write an MA thesis on military and economic planning by the Great Powers prior to the start of the First World War.
Read more from Irwin Rapoport here.
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