On Tuesday, Cooper University Health held the ceremonial groundbreaking for the first phase of a $3 billion expansion at their campus in Camden. This first development effort is a 10-story 35,000 square foot tower offering 125 private in-patient rooms.
The corner location at Haddon Ave. and Martin Luther King Blvd will likely make this tower the most prominent view for most visitors to the Cooper Camden Campus, as it will be the first significant Cooper hospital building visitors will see coming in from the Rt 676 highway.

Being directly next to the existing Roberts tower, it appears this new tower was designed to cohesively integrate with the Roberts building… At least from the exterior façade perspective.
Additionally, a pedestrian walkway tunnel will be developed crossing over Haddon Avenue and connect to the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.

On hand for the ceremony were Governor Murphy and four former New Jersey governors, Camden Mayor Carstarphen as well as several other dignitaries including Camden County born TV celebrity Kelly Ripa.
The presentation featured about nine different speeches (including all of the Governors) where a primary focus was the significant improvement in Camden over the last 20 years or so, and the collaborative efforts between the Governors, Cooper Board Chairman George Norcross, local elected officials, the police department and community leaders… who were all called out for their contributions to overall improvements within Camden.

As an example, former governor Christie touted that since the new regional police force was installed about 12 years ago, the homicide rate in Camden has dropped 75%.
While the message was one of seriousness and celebration… Fun was mixed-in throughout the speeches, particularly with the Philadelphia Eagles heading into the Super bowl and the majority of the speakers at the event who do not consider the Eagles their favorite team!

The fun continued after the core events, as Kelly Ripa held a dance party for Cooper hospital medical workers… fulfilling a promise she made during the pandemic when she promised “when this is all over (the pandemic) we’re going to have a party with red velvet cake” to thank Cooper healthcare workers for their dedication.

Cooper University Health – Project Imagine Phase I
Cooper university healthcare’s Project Imagine project this plan to be the largest building investment in Camden county’s history.
The full project will feature 3 new patient towers accommodating up to 745 all private inpatient beds. It will also support enhanced surgical and emergency services as well as increased regional emergency preparedness.

As mentioned this first phase tower is a 10-story building totaling 35,000 square feet.
This tower will use approximately 170 million in state grant money that the Murphy administration provided to the states 3 level 1 trauma centers after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal to strengthen new Jersey’s emergency preparedness.

From the press release this first tower will include:
- 125 acuity-adaptable private rooms incorporating advanced technology to meet diverse patient needs.
- Expanded women’s services featuring labor and delivery rooms and a new neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
- Additional operating rooms, increasing surgical capacity to meet growing demand.
- Education and research spaces with a modern medical library and learner-focused spaces to support Cooper’s academic mission.
- Emergency preparedness infrastructure including a state-of-the-art medical command center to serve the region.
I will be following along as the project continues

Links and Location
Cooper University Health – Tower A Project
Haddon Ave and Martin Luther King Blvd
Camden NJ