25-story office tower added to $250M Camden redevelopment project

 By Paul Schwedelson – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal

The public-private partnership behind the redevelopment of Camden's Walter Rand Transportation Center is taking the project to new heights, announcing plans to add the largest office tower in South Jersey.

Master developer Gilbane and property owner NJ Transit said Monday they plan to build a 25-story, 500,000-square-foot office building between Federal Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at the transportation hub.

The office tower, named the Beacon Building, is the newest addition to the redevelopment project, for which New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy committed more than $250 million in funding three years ago.

The building is planned to be partially occupied by Cooper University Health Care. The project’s leaders, which also include the Camden County Improvement Authority and government officials, plan to recruit New Jersey’s Administrative Office of the Courts to relocate civil courts to the building.

The Beacon Building builds on Cooper University Health Care’s $3 billion campus expansion, which includes three clinical towers. The expansion is needed to meet current and future demand at the 663-bed Cooper University Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. The expansion of the university system, life sciences and research sectors is expected to drive a need for office space.

The Walter Rand redevelopment project is also planned to include an updated transportation center, a public square and a parking structure on Lot N.

“The Beacon Building’s proximity to the Rand Transportation Center and Cooper makes it attractive as we look for additional office space to house Cooper’s growing team of support services,” Cooper University Health Care Co-CEO Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli said in a statement. “The additional parking that will be part of this important project is also attractive to Cooper.”

The existing transportation center was built in 1989 and the new design is intended to house most of the operations inside the transportation center. The new hub would better accommodate the 24 bus lines that service the facility, provide connectivity to the PATCO Speedline subway and the River Line light rail, support independent intercity bus services and provide additional parking, administrative offices and retail space.

Full story: https://tinyurl.com/4navyn88

www.omegare.com