Bisnow on Austin’s Innovation Boom

Austin was the backdrop this week for Bisnow's Future of Austin Healthcare and Life Sciences event, where Houston firms showed strong representation. A standout moment was chatting with keynote speaker Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti, SVP for Medical Affairs at UT Austin. Her update on the future UT Dell Medical Center and UT Campus for Advanced Research was fascinating. The scale could reshape healthcare and innovation across Texas.

I also gained great insights from my former colleague Whitney K. Fuessel, Partner at HKS, on the importance of strategic planning and programming in healthcare projects. And Carol Warkoczewski, founder of the Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP), offered a timely reminder on the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR) process, aligning needs, priorities, and operational goals early to reduce friction and risk on complex projects.

This trip was also a fun mix of business and family time. I spent the long weekend with my sons, who both studied at UT and loved Austin enough to stay after graduation. It has been amazing watching the city grow from a great college town into a thriving hub for healthcare, technology, life sciences, and innovation, and we have been fortunate to work on a number of projects there, including several on the UT campus, as that transformation has unfolded.