Rowan University trustees agreed Tuesday to sell 100 acres for $11.5 million to Inspira Health Network, which plans to build a hospital in the area west of the university’s main campus in Glassboro.
The deal’s cost is $2 million higher than when it was first proposed to Rowan trustees two months ago, because of a property appraisal; $1 million will be set aside as an endowment to help cover the costs of setting up internships, Rowan said.
The sale would excise a chunk of Rowan’s largely undeveloped “West Campus,” with Inspira planning a 350,000-square-foot facility at Routes 322 and 55 in Harrison Township.
Before the closing, Rowan and Inspira will develop an affiliation agreement to formalize partnership opportunities for faculty, staff, and students, including research and internships. The initial partnership agreement would run for five years, with one-year renewals after that. “Inspira’s new medical center will provide us with a wide range of educational opportunities, and it also will act as an anchor that will attract health-care providers, researchers, and businesses to the area,” Ali A. Houshmand, Rowan’s president, said in a statement.