Construction Starts On Major Central Jersey Rutgers Cancer Center

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — On Thursday morning, RWJBarnabas officially started construction on a massive brand-new cancer facility that, once completed, will soar over the New Brunswick skyline and be visible for miles around.

The 12-story building will be jointly operated by RWJBarnabas Health and the existing Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. It will be named the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center, in recognition of the philanthropy of Jack Morris, a longtime supporter and pillar in New Brunswick development, and his wife, Sheryl.

Thursday morning's groundbreaking was attended by Gov. Phil Murphy, who spoke, and Rutgers president Jonathan Holloway, plus RWJBarnabas Health CEO Barry Ostrowsky.

This is part of RWJBarnabas' mission to compete with the John Theurer Cancer Center, operated by Hackensack Meridian in North Jersey, and Memorial Sloan Kettering, which has satellite campuses across New Jersey. All three are competitors in the lucrative, competitive field of Garden State cancer care. Rutgers University also seeks to become a national leader in cancer treatment and research.

Already, the Rutgers Cancer Institute is known as one of the top places in the nation for treatment of skin cancer, and also for treatment of breast cancer. Rutgers' Melanoma and Soft Tissue Oncology Program has won national designations from the National Cancer Institute.

The Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center will be a 12-story, 510-thousand-square-foot building and will be connected to the existing Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. It will be located at 165 Somerset Street in New Brunswick.

While cancer treatment centers exist throughout New Jersey, officials say this will be the first freestanding hospital solely devoted to the treatment of one disease: Cancer.

It is expected to open in 2024.

“Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey together with RWJBarnabas Health already serves as a destination for advanced cancer treatments including clinical trials, stem cell transplantation, proton therapy and CAR T-cell therapy. This trailblazing facility will help us further our mission in the delivery of outstanding comprehensive oncology care for our state and improving the health and well-being of our residents,” said Ostrowsky on Thursday. “Jack Morris has been the greatest champion of this project since its inception. The magnitude of this generosity propels Jack and Sheryl into the ranks of visionary philanthropists who have helped to change the course of healthcare in New Jersey.”

"The Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center will be a model for cancer care delivery on the East Coast, bringing together the three mission areas of academic medicine — research, education and patient care — all under one roof," Ostrowsky previously said.

In total, it will cost $750 million to build the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center. It will offer inpatient and outpatient cancer treatment; the building will also house labs as it aims to be a worldwide hub for cancer research.

Rutgers medical students will work in the building when it opens. For the first time ever, Middlesex County Community College nursing and radiography students will also get hands-on experience there.

“The next stage of the war on cancer will be waged right here in New Brunswick. Cancer has touched each and every one of us in different ways. This new state-of-the-art cancer center arms us with the science, medicine and critical resources to fight back like never before and gives new hope to thousands of current cancer patients and to those who have yet to be diagnosed,” said New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill.

Taxpayer funding is being provided by Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, RWJBarnabas Health, New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO) and the city of New Brunswick.

DEVCO President Christopher Paladino said: “The Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center represents incredible progress in our city’s growth and will further enhance the world-class fabric of the New Brunswick landscape. Not only will it provide employment and educational opportunities to our immediate community, but this revolutionary structure also will represent the ‘best of the best’ and serve as a cancer destination for the Northeast.”

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