by
Gus Iversen, Editor in Chief | September 29, 2015
Financial hardships have befallen the $225 million, 100,000 square-foot proton therapy facility under construction at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
In 2012 it was announced that the Dallas Proton Treatment Center was being developed by Advanced Particle Therapy LLC, which would fund, design, build, equip, commission and initiate operation of the facility. On September 17, the project was submitted for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking protection from creditors while reorganizing its finances.
In light of the bankruptcy, one of the investors, oil pipeline billionaire, Kelcy Warren, has asked a federal judge to instate new leadership on the project. Warren has argued in court that Advanced Particle Therapy improperly spent his $20 million investment on other centers and on management fees,
according to a report by the Dallas Business Journal.
Prior to the Chapter 11 filing, Warren and other debtors had attempted to move forward with collectors.
Dallas / Fort Worth Healthcare Daily reported Warren cited evidence of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in his statements, adding that the developers no longer have the money to develop the proton center.
The treatment center expects to have funds to pay unsecured creditors, according to the Dallas Business Journal's report, citing documents suggesting the center has between $10 million and $50 million in assets and between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities.
Warren's lawyers are asking a bankruptcy judge to “immediately” assign a trustee to represent the debtors. In all, he claims the Dallas Proton Treatment Center misappropriated $40 million.
A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20 on Warren’s motion.
The multi-room facility — if, and when, it is completed — is expected to have five treatment rooms provided by Varian Medical Systems.
Meanwhile, the Texas Center for Proton Therapy, another North Texas facility,
began undergoing beam calibration earlier in the month and is poised to start treating patients by the end of the year.
