Page 16 - RE-NJ

14 JUNE 2025
The Jack & Sheryl Morris Cance er r Ce Cent nter e has ope pene ed d
in d downt tow o n Ne N w w Br Brun unsw swic ick, k, f fol ollo owi wing ng a a $ $1 1 bi bill llio ion n
pr proj ojec ect t th that at h has as b bro roug ught ht t top op-t -tie ier r pa pati tien ent t ca care re a and nd
cu cutt ttin ing- g ed edge ge research h l lab bs u d nder one roof f.
Courtesy: RWJBarnabas Health
VITAL INVESTMENTS
The encounter with Jack Morris
was every bit as memorable as
it was abrupt, as Chris Paladino
suggested nearly a decade later, as
he recalled his exchange with the
real estate magnate and then-board
chair of the hospital system known as
RWJBarnabas Health.
“It seems just like yesterday that
Chairman Morris
came bounding
into a meeting,
pulled me aside
and said, ‘I just
interviewed the
next director
of the cancer
institute — Steve
Chris Paladino
Libutti. He’s
going to be great,’” said Paladino,
Landmark cancer center in New Brunswick is
‘just the beginning’ of broader real estate,
facilities strategy by RWJBarnabas
By Joshua Burd
president of New Brunswick
Development Corp.
“And as he walked away, he looked
back over his shoulder, just like only
Jack could, and said, ‘And by the way,
I promised him a big new building.’”
It was only fi tting that Paladino
shared the story on recent Tuesday
in downtown New Brunswick,
where he joined Morris, Libutti and
other key players to unveil the new
12-story, 520,000-square-foot Jack &
Sheryl Morris Cancer Center after
years of design, land assemblage and
construction. The landmark facility,
located at 165 Somerset St., is New
Jersey’s fi rst freestanding cancer
hospital and one of only 13 in the
country, part of a $1 billion project
that has brought top-tier patient care
and cutting-edge research labs under
one roof.
It’s also the centerpiece of a massive
investment in RWJBarnabas
Health’s physical footprint — one
that’s ongoing — highlighting the
increasingly vital role of ground-up
development in New Jersey’s health
care sector. That’s evident by the
overall $1.5 billion expansion of
cancer services by the hospital system
and Rutgers Cancer Institute, which
includes the new Morris Cancer
Center as well as major new oncology
hubs in Livingston and Tinton Falls
that will come online over the next
year, among other major projects.
“This is just the beginning,” said
Morris, CEO of Edgewood Properties,
who was a
driving force
behind the new
cancer center,
thanks in large
part to his
family’s outsized
philanthropy.
“We’ll continue
Jack Morris
to build because
those buildings will provide the best
care for people, the best equipment,
the best talent and the best outcomes
for our patients.”
Hospitals have prioritized major
capital projects in recent years, with
health care spending on the rise as
a larger segment of the population
reaches retirement age. According to