Cost Increase and Project Scale
Cooper University Health Care announced the estimated cost of its Camden expansion has grown to $3 billion as it prepares to break ground.
The health system described its expansion project, called “Project Imagine,” as the largest in Camden County history and one of the largest ever in New Jersey. Cooper stated the expansion will meet the current and future demand at its 663-bed Cooper University Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.
When Cooper first announced the major campus expansion in September 2022, estimating the price tag at $2 billion.
Cooper officials explained the new $3 billion figure represents an estimated cost for the project over time and encompasses its “long-term vision” for the Camden campus. “Many factors have adjusted the initial cost projections, which include escalating construction costs,” a Cooper spokesperson stated.
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Joint Venture Formation for Cooper University Health Care’s Camden expansion
Cooper announced Monday it has formed a joint venture with the Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and its construction managers, Torcon Inc. and P. Agnes Inc., both based in Philadelphia, for the project.
The health system claimed the joint venture will create “unprecedented economic opportunity” for Camden residents.
Under the joint venture, the carpenters union will serve as the lead construction partner on Cooper’s expansion and work with the health system to establish specific plans ensuring a hiring preference for Camden residents, overall workforce inclusion, and recruitment for apprentice programs.
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Cooper University Health Care Camden expansion: First Phase Details and Timeline
The first phase of the expansion, the 10-story tower, will create between 425 and 475 construction jobs.
In addition to the patient care tower, Phase 1 of the project includes constructing a bridge that will connect the 333,000-square-foot patient care tower to the MD Anderson Cooper Cancer Center. Cooper expects to complete the tower and bridge in late 2026 or early 2027.
The first of the three new clinical towers will increase the hospital’s bed count by 125. The health system stated the towers will incorporate environmental sustainability and include emerging technologies and innovations to provide advanced care and support. The project will also expand education and teaching space for Cooper.
The Cooper spokesperson stated they have yet to determine the number of new permanent jobs the towers will create.
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Cooper’s workforce of 11,000 people includes 940 Camden residents.
William C. Sproule, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, described the joint venture with Cooper University Health Care as more than a job. “It gives us an opportunity to show what we can do to make the community, our community, better and stronger and create real opportunity,” Sproule said in a statement.
Community Benefit Programs and Reporting
The union, working with the construction managers, will also help ensure the broader community in the city of Camden and the South Jersey region benefit by supporting programs such as the, Cooper University Health Care’s Camden expansion, Camden Health & Athletic Association and the Camden Works job training and placement program.
The joint venture intends to make regular, quarterly, public reports detailing the number of participants in job training and apprenticeship programs, the number of Camden city residents hired, and the number hired from “historically underrepresented groups.”
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Project Factsheet:
Project Name: “Project Imagine”
Location: Camden, New Jersey
Estimated Cost: $3 billion
Initial Cost Estimate (2022): $2 billion
Lead Organization: Cooper University Health Care
Key Partners: Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Torcon Inc., P. Agnes Inc.
Expected Completion (Phase 1): Late 2026 or early 2027
Job Creation: 425-475 construction jobs (Phase 1)
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