UT Southwestern makes big move to ambitious Pegasus Park biotech campus
The medical school’s lease makes it the latest tenant to choose the redevelopment on Stemmons Freeway.
Exterior of Pegasus Park tower, at Stemmons Freeway and Commonwealth Drive. The building is being remodeled into a nonprofit and biotech workplace center.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)
An ambitious redevelopment project near Dallas’ medical district has landed another major tenant, cementing its success.
UT Southwestern Medical Center is leasing 180,000 square feet of space in the Pegasus Park campus on Stemmons Freeway near Love Field.
The lease is one of the largest signed in the Dallas area in the last year and is a big win for Pegasus Park, which is renovating an 18-story tower and surrounding buildings into a state-of-the–art home for biotech firms and nonprofit organizations.
W
HEN THE Texas legislature convened on January 12th, the state House opened its first session with prayer, the pledge of allegiance to the American flag, and the pledge of allegiance to the Lone Star flag. The 140-day session, which takes place every other year, will be filled with plenty more prayers and promises. Texas, like other states, is grappling with the human and economic toll of the pandemic, but also faces challenges of its own.
Listen to this story
Enjoy more audio and podcasts oniOSorAndroid.
The stark economy will rule out new, ambitious proposals. On January 11th the state comptroller estimated that Texas faces a $1bn shortfall, stemming from falling sales-tax revenue and its ailing oil-and-gas industry, which has contributed to a higher unemployment rate in the state than in the nation. However, the $1bn hole is five times smaller than predicted over the summer. Quick cuts to state agencies and tax collections from online sales have helped, but the biggest saviou
Texas invested big in pre-K. Now a tight state budget could threaten that funding.
Lawmakers meet in January and might face a tough financial outlook.
Lawmakers gave school districts millions for early childhood education in the 2019 legislative session.(Lynda M. González / Staff Photographer)
After a massive expansion of pre-K across Texas, the future of early education funding could be at risk because of the pandemic-induced financial crisis.
Lawmakers face a tough 2021 legislative session with necessary budget cuts likely. School districts that benefited from the early education investment hope elected officials will protect that funding.
Carrollton-Farmers Branch schools, for example, received $4.5 million to grow their prekindergarten offerings from half- to full-day because of the historic 2019 school finance package that bolstered funding for early childhood education.