The JV's development plan calls for a late summer ground-breaking for a 272,538-sf facility that will go up on a 35-acre tract fronting Interstate 35. The fall 2005 delivery will bring 162 beds and a new name, the Presbyterian Hospital of Denton. The project, designed by the Ascension Group of Arlington, will deliver with some space set aside for the future development of another 55 beds.

Laura C. Baldwin, investor relations director for Plano-based Triad, tells GlobeSt.com that the Denton JV between the two leading health-care providers is "the only one planned for now." Because Triad is publicly traded, information basically is limited to the press release, which says Triad will own 80% of the partnership.

Under the agreement, the JV will lease the 122-bed Denton Community Hospital, an 11-acre property bought two years ago. The existing facility will be retooled for hospital and support services, with the bed count reduced to 84 once the new hospital opens. Just two years ago, the facility at 207 N. Bonnie Brae underwent a $21.5-million renovation.

"When we began discussions with Triad, it became clear that our two organizations share a very similar mission...the improvement of the communities' health," Douglas D. Hawthorne, Texas Health Resources' president and CEO, said in a press release.

Triad Hospitals owns 49 hospitals and 14 ambulatory centers in 16 states. Thirteen hospitals are located in Texas.

Texas Health Resources is one of the state's largest faith-based, not-for-profit health-care providers. Formed in 1997, it now has 13 hospitals in its network.