Children's Hospital of San Antonio gets $20 million gift

Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury sold Pace Foods Ltd. in 1994. Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury sold Pace Foods Ltd. in 1994. Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Children's Hospital of San Antonio gets $20 million gift 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Upcoming renovations of Children's Hospital of San Antonio downtown will be boosted by a $20 million donation from a family foundation established by Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury, the billionaire of Pace Foods salsa fame.

The gift, which the Goldsbury Foundation will pay out over five years, is the largest in Christus Santa Rosa Health System's 144-year history, officials said Thursday.

Goldsbury and his wife, Angela, who oversee the foundation, did not attend Thursday's announcement. He's currently CEO of Silver Ventures, which has redeveloped the Pearl Brewery and helped build two high-end hotels in San Antonio.

The foundation has a long relationship with Christus Santa Rosa and has invested large sums in the downtown area, a spokeswoman said.

“We strongly believe this would be the best place for the sickest child,” said Suzanne Mead Feldmann, the foundation's executive director. “We believe mission rather than margin means you end up taking care of the most important thing, and that is our children.

“We think it makes a lot of sense to take a facility that exists and repurpose it to be a first-class, Tier 1 children's hospital,” she said.

The gift comes as Christus faces significant competition in children's health care in San Antonio.

Vanguard Health Systems and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will build a new pediatric hospital in the South Texas Medical Center, while Methodist Healthcare System is pursuing $10 million in upgrades to its Methodist Children's Hospital.

After Christus Santa Rosa closed its adult hospital last summer to convert it into Children's Hospital of San Antonio — a transformation that will cost at least $135 million for demolition and reconstruction — the hospital announced in February its partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital to develop a Tier 1 pediatric campus downtown.

The Goldsbury Foundation's $20 million gift will be used to build a new two-story lobby and entrance facing North San Saba.

The donation also will pay for campus aesthetics, family-center amenities, gardens, children's play areas, health and wellness initiatives, and community outreach.

Design work was recently completed. Exterior work will begin late this summer, with interior renovations to follow.

Construction is expected to wrap by late 2014 or early 2015.

“We'll stay open through this entire project,” said Patrick Carrier, president and CEO of Christus Santa Rosa Health System.

The Goldsburys have made other significant donations to Christus Santa Rosa, including a $5 million gift in 1999 to help open the Goldsbury Center for Children and Families and a $1.5 million donation in 2005 to establish the Center for Miracles.

pohare@express-news.net