A new $62.5 million Rutgers University Camden nursing and science building was dedicated Monday in downtown Camden.
The 106,700-square-foot building was hailed as another step in the restoration of one of the poorest cities in America and a sign of the commitment Rutgers-Camden has to the region.
“As the city grows, Rutgers grows,” said Rutgers University President Robert Barchi as he stood in a window-filled atrium at the new facility. “And, as Rutgers grows the city grows.”
The building rose across the intersection of Fifth and Federal streets from Camden City Hall. More than one official gathered for the ceremony called attention to the imagery.
Barchi said the nursing building is an extension of the Rutgers campus toward Cooper University Hospital, a key, regional trauma center and part of a vibrant medical school for doctors and nurses in programs from Rutgers and Rowan universities. Rowan is based in Glassboro, but its medical school is based in downtown Camden.