Cooper University Health Care celebrated the start of construction on a $650 million patient tower
The new patient tower is the first phase of a projected $3 billion expansion by Cooper.
Cooper University Health Care in Camden held a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday for a 10-story, $650 million patient tower that is expected to open in 2028. The tower is the first phase of what is expected to be a $3 billion expansion of the Camden nonprofit health-care provider.
Backhoes are already on site preparing to lay the foundation for the new building, which will have 125 private patient rooms, labor and delivery rooms, a neonatal intensive-care unit, and operating rooms. New Jersey is providing $170 million to help pay for it.
“I’m proud to say we’ve put up a big chunk of what will ultimately be a $3 billion expansion, because we know that this hospital can continue meeting the region’s growing needs,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during the event at Cooper. Murphy was joined on stage by four former governors.
The new building, the first of three anticipated facilities with up to 745 patient beds, will rise next to Cooper’s Roberts Pavilion and will be connected to the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper via a pedestrian bridge over Haddon Avenue, Cooper said.
Cooper currently has 663 beds in Camden. It also owns the 242-bed Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional in Cape May Court House, near the Jersey Shore.
Cooper had $2.2 billion in revenue and $163 million in operating income in 2023.
When Cooper announced the expansion in September 2022, the cost of the 10-year project was estimated at $2 billion. The increased to $3 billion was caused by increased costs and changes in the scope of project, a Cooper spokesperson said.
Less than two miles from the site of Cooper’s new building, Virtua Health is planning to build a $490 million patient tower at Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. The two projects will add to the already intense competition for patients in South Jersey.