Ex-Roche Site Booming In Nutley: Med School, Ralph Lauren

NUTLEY, NJ — Dozens of New Jersey doctors-to-be launched their medical careers earlier this week with a “white coat” ceremony at the recently opened Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, which is located at the Nutley-Clifton border at the former Hoffmann-La Roche property on Route 3.

On Tuesday, the school’s inaugural class of 60 students – selected from among more than 2,100 applicants – celebrated a white coat ceremony in preparation for their hands-on training, which will take place in several of Hackensack Meridian Health's 16 hospitals.

Tuesday’s “white coat” class includes two practicing RN's, five graduate students, as well as a future physician with a Ph.D. in pharmacology. Half the students are from New Jersey and nearly half are women, school administrators said.

• See related article: Med School Preps For 1st Class At Former Hoffman-La Roche Site

The ceremony represents another step in the resurrection of the former Hoffman-La Roche property, which the company vacated in 2013. Hoffmann-La Roche’s departure from the site left a vacuum of real estate available until Bloomfield-based developer Prism Capital Partners purchased the vacant property in 2016 and began its transformation into ON3, a 116-acre “biotech office space.”

Shortly after the sale, Hackensack Meridian Health and Seton Hall University announced plans to create a new, four-year school of medicine at the site. The school’s curriculum offers a three-year program so students can start their residencies a year early or stay on and obtain a graduate degree. Only about a dozen other medical schools offer three-year programs, which lower the cost of a medical education, administrators said.

To help ensure low-income students also have a shot at an education, the Hackensack Meridian Health Board of Trustees established a $100 million endowment fund for scholarships. In addition, Seton Hall University relocated its College of Nursing and School of Health and Medical Sciences to create an Interprofessional Health Sciences campus.

Other tenants at ON3 include Modern Meadow – a biotech company that produces "animal-free leather" from living cells – and a high-profile corporate giant expected to create 250 jobs in Nutley by 2020: Ralph Lauren.

The company will receive a 10-year, $33.1 million award from the Grow New Jersey program to relocate its Lyndhurst facility in Nutley. The move keeps 518 jobs in the state, but Ralph Lauren will need to create 250 more if the company wants to reap the benefits of the complete award. It had been contemplating a move to High Point, N.C.

Ralph Lauren is expected to occupy the space in late 2019 or early 2020, News12 reported.

• See related article: Ralph Lauren Coming To Ex-Roche Site In Nutley; 225 Jobs Expected
• See related article: Animal-Free Leather Company Moving To Former Roche Site
• See related article: Nutley Mayor Reflects On Ex-Roche Site's Transformation

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