Healthcare Development Group Forms

DALLAS-A co-founder of azimuth: architecture inc. has sold his stake in the Dallas-based firm and is branching out to healthcare facilities development.

Allan Brown is teaming with David Burgher and Bo Brownlee, partners in Trophy Investments in Dallas, for the initiative that for now is operating as Ten10 LLC as it positions itself in the market for the initial projects. Brown tells GlobeSt.com that a contract is in hand for a two-building, 72,000-sf development on 12.9 acres in Dallas’ Medical District. If all goes as planned, the acquisition, with six acres of vacant land, should close in April 2004.

Brown, who hails from a development family in the Northeast, says he’s been working on the healthcare plan for a couple years. Existing and build-to-suit medical facilities–professional office buildings to specialized hospitals–are part of Ten10′s business model, which initially is aimed at developments in metro areas in Texas and Louisiana. The proposal, he acknowledges, “has a long way to go, but it looks promising.”

Brown, who co-founded azimuth 12 years ago, has designed a number of high-profile medical buildings, but believes it’s time to put that knowledge to work for himself and his partners. He is talking to a health system about a possible alliance; healthcare brokers to help with site selection and leasing or pre-leasing; and future equity partners to join in an investment pool. The healthcare system alliance, he says, is “the golden ring … and we are pursuing that.”

Brown has sold his interests in azimuth to co-founder John Taylor and Jack Atkins, who joined shortly after the firm’s launch. Brown says the exit was necessary “to make it as practical as possible” so he could focus on the new business.

“Out service to clients will not be interrupted during this time of transition,” Taylor says in a press release. “We have the resources in place to manager our projects well.