By Sean Slater, senior principal, RDC Architecture & Planning
In today’s evolving retail landscape, one of the most promising — and often overlooked — opportunities lies in the land surrounding our nation’s hospitals and medical centers.
As healthcare systems continue to expand and consolidate, savvy development executives recognize the immense potential of strategically positioning retail properties in locations that are adjacent to major medical facilities. Doing so combines consistent foot traffic, demographic advantages and an urgent need for community-focused amenities. This was the scenario that RDC’s placemaking design team faced at the Texas Medical Center’s (TMC) new TMC3 research and development campus south of the massive healthcare cluster near downtown Houston.
On any given day at that sprawling site, more than 100,000 people — about the seating capacity of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — come to work, while 27,400 patients visit one of the 21 associated hospitals. Many of them are international visitors staying at local hotels with significant downtime.
Kristen Kupperman, TMC’s vice president of design, construction and facilities, introduced RDC’s design team to this problem, saying that there are 80,000 women who work at TMC every day, yet there is nowhere to get a manicure and nowhere to grab high-quality, healthy food on the way home from work. This idea informed Kupperman’s thinking about staff and visitors to TMC, and that the availability of shopping, dining and services would be convenient and life-enhancing for the daily visitors to the site.
RDC’s architecture and planning team collaborated with TMC to design integrated experiential retail and hospitality into the site, a human-scaled solution that creates a district that activates the ground-level area, further activating the existing, award-winning Helix Park, which opened in 2023. The proposed experiential retail district will offer extensive pathways through lush lawns and grassy knolls, where curved walkways lead to cafes, retail shops, fitness facilities and individual gardens that will host outdoor gatherings, concerts and other activities. Designed to serve Houstonians, the medical community and visitors from everywhere, the thoughtful addition to Helix Park furthers TMC’s mission to create a place of healing and continue to better the lives of the people who visit TMC.
This new district at TMC is located along the Houston Metro line, between TMC Medical Center and NRG Stadium. It will serve the 100,000-plus daily employees who visit the TMC campus daily, covering four shift changes during the most active hours of 6 am to 8 pm. The district will cater to the 10 million annual patient visits to TMC and the 500,000 residents within a 15-minute drive of the property, boasting an average annual household income of $122,086. The site is located within one mile of NRG Stadium, which hosts more than 500 events per year, including the Houston Rodeo and the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. Helix Park will offer 123,000 square feet of retail space, including a beer garden and food hall. It features 275,000 square feet of programmed park area and a 1,000-seat amphitheater.
Compelling Demographics
The numbers paint a clear picture of opportunity. At any given hospital, approximately 80 percent of employees are women — a demographic that holds significant purchasing power as primary household decision-makers. These women control family budgets, make most household purchases and actively seek convenient shopping solutions that fit into their demanding schedules. Whether they’re rushing to work for a 12-hour shift, heading home after a grueling day or squeezing in errands while picking up children from school, healthcare workers represent a captive audience with both the means and motivation to spend.
Beyond the employee base, hospitals generate thousands of daily visitors — patients and their families who often find themselves with hours to fill during treatments, consultations or recovery periods. Currently, most healthcare systems fail to provide a hospitality-focused experience that could transform these necessary but stressful visits into more comfortable, even beneficial experiences. Retail and entertainment offerings at or near these properties have often been relegated to drug stores, gift and flower shops and convenience stores.
Healthcare-adjacent developments present unique opportunities for hospitality integration. Medical tourism continues to grow, creating demand for hotel accommodation near specialized treatment centers. Families traveling for medical care need comfortable, convenient lodging options while local families dealing with extended treatments require nearby amenities and options for respite.
The potential extends beyond basic accommodation to encompass comprehensive support services, including meal delivery for families spending long hours in hospitals, childcare services for parents juggling medical appointments and wellness amenities that serve both visitors and the surrounding community.
Strategic Community Integration
Successful healthcare-adjacent retail development requires a deep understanding of the surrounding community. Newer major medical centers are typically located in formerly greenfield sites that have become dense with rooftops and limited in amenities.
In the case of our work with the West Texas Rehab Center in Abilene, Texas, the underutilized areas of the site lie adjacent to neighborhoods with favorable demographics — featuring higher-income households, larger families and residents who value convenience and quality. These communities represent ideal retail audiences, yet current retail offerings underserve many.
At West Texas Rehab Center, RDC created plans for a vibrant, 17-acre mixed-use development set across three connected parcels. The destination blends over 73,000-plus square feet of curated retail, 62,000 square feet of food-and-beverage options, 50,000 square feet of modern office space and a 120-key hotel designed to welcome both locals and visitors. Rooted in the rich heritage of Abilene and built for the future, this community-focused hub is designed to bring people together, energize the city’s core and support the growth of local enterprises.
As architects and designers, we invest significant time studying comparable projects, analyzing user demographics and psychographics and understanding the unique characteristics of each neighborhood. This research-driven approach allows us to create developments that authentically represent the community while aspiring toward health and wellness goals. The result is projects that not only serve immediate needs but also actively contribute to creating healthier environments for all users.
Thoughtfully designed retail environments can serve as community gathering spaces that foster natural social interaction and connection. When positioned adjacent to healthcare facilities, these developments can transform sterile, anxiety-inducing medical visits into opportunities for community engagement and support.
Consider the parent waiting during a child’s appointment who can step into a comfortable café, the healthcare worker grabbing lunch between shifts who encounters neighbors and builds community connections or the family managing a long-term treatment who finds respite and normalcy in nearby retail amenities. These are the beneficiaries of successful healthcare-adjacent retail development.
The Investment Case
For landowners and developers, healthcare-adjacent retail development represents a compelling investment opportunity built on several solid foundations: consistent foot traffic from employees and visitors, demographic advantages in target markets, growing demand for wellness-focused retail and the potential for hospitality integration serving medical tourism and family needs.
The post-pandemic emphasis on health, wellness and community connection creates an ideal environment for retail concepts that prioritize these values. Successful developments in this space don’t just capture existing demand, they actively improve the healthcare experience for patients, families and employees while serving the broader community’s retail and wellness needs.
Healthcare-adjacent retail development represents more than a business opportunity; it’s a chance to create healthier, more connected communities where the necessity of medical care becomes an opportunity for positive community interaction and support. In our increasingly fragmented world, these developments can serve as vital community anchors that bring people together around shared values of health, wellness and mutual support.