Seton has the parcel, which measures just less than 28 acres, under contract, a hospital contact says. Barshop & Oles, the retail developer with operations in San Antonio and Austin, owns the property. An associated 100,000-sf office building is expected to be developed by another company, which was not identified.

Seton cites the same criteria that is drawing retailers like Wal-Mart, Lowe's and H-E-B to the intersection. Access to the site is convenient, it's on public transportation routes and it's within the City of Austin. It also is large enough to accommodate expansion.

Seton, which operate hospitals, clinics and specialty medical facilities in the Austin area, is proposing a 451,000-sf hospital with 164 beds. It would include a 33-bed emergency room department, 12-suite surgery center, recovery, imaging and outpatient facilities.The new facility may not mean the existing Austin Children's Hospital, which Seton operates, would be closed. Seton has said, however, that the facility is overloaded. The new hospital will be three to four times larger than the existing one.