Key elements of a University of Texas academic health center at the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport site are falling into place.

In May, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation announced that it would contribute $38 million toward a $97 million pediatric health institute, the first of what is intended to be a series of buildings making up the health center.

And on Thursday, the UT System Board of Regents is expected to approve several other elements, including a dollar-a-year lease for 99 years with the City of Austin for 16 acres at the former airport; a $4 million payment to Catellus Austin LLC, the site's master developer, to handle stormwater runoff and other infrastructure; and design plans for the Dell Pediatric Research Institute.

In addition, talks are under way concerning an additional parcel of similar size at the site for the health center. That acreage could be purchased from the city or leased with an option to buy.

Developing an academic health center in Austin — which, in time, could morph into a full-fledged medical school — has been a priority for UT System officials, including James Huffines, chairman of the regents, and Dr. Kenneth Shine, executive vice chancellor for health affairs. Their building-block approach is beginning to take shape.

Construction is scheduled to start in mid-November on the pediatric institute, said Patricia Clubb, vice president for employee and campus services at UT-Austin. The institute will have about 150,000 square feet of space for medical, academic, research and teaching purposes. The project will include a parking garage, retail space at the front of the garage facing the street,and landscaping. The institute is scheduled to open in 2009.

Officials are already discussing two additional buildings for the 16-acre tract, one with 117,000 square feet of space and the other with 250,000 square feet. A possible focus is brain research, a field that would fit nicely with the pediatric institute and the adjacent Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas under construction at the former airport. Not all of the research at the health center would focus on children, though.

The center is intended to foster collaboration among UT-Austin and the UT System's six health campuses. Researchers and clinicians recruited by the center might have dual appointments to UT-Austin and one of the health campuses.

"The understanding is that it will interact, in terms of recruiting and programs, with all of the health institutions in the UT System,"" Shine said. "Our overall notion is that having this research enterprise is going to help a lot in recruiting the very best clinicians as well as the very best scientists to Austin."

The gift from the Dell foundation jump-started the project. Next month, efforts will begin to match the foundation's gift dollar-for-dollar with money from other donors. "The preliminary interest among donors is quite high," Shine said.

The $21 million balance is to be raised through the sale of bonds, which will be repaid from parking and retail revenue, and from parts of federal research grants earmarked for overhead expenses, according to UT System documents.

An additional kitty of $30 million is planned to aid in recruitment, with that money available for startup and operating costs for researchers and clinicians.

"It's hard to recruit people to a startup operation," Shine said. "You want to have something that's really attractive."