Princeton, Rutgers, RWJ Housed Under One Roof In New Brunswick

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy was in New Brunswick Thursday to announce the groundbreaking of the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub.

This is a dramatic plan to house Princeton University, Rutgers, Hackensack Meridian Health and RWJ Barnabas together under one roof in the heart of New Brunswick.

Once completed, the NJ Innovation and Tech Hub will be one of the most enduring legacies of the Murphy administration.

Murphy's goal is to have the two universities and rival healthcare systems operate out of one massive, ten-story, 210,000-square-foot building on Albany Street, within walking distance of the NJ Transit/Amtrak station. The complex will be built on what used to be a parking garage (it was torn down), and is currently a vacant lot.

Rutgers and Princeton are considered rivals, competing for federal grants and academic prestige. Competition is even fiercer between Hackensack Meridian and RWJ Barnabas: For decades, the state's two largest hospital networks competed to purchase the most hospitals in a cutthroat battle for market share.

But now Gov. Murphy wants all four to start collaborating and play nice, in the name of scientific progress.

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School will also relocate to Tech Hub. The Rutgers Institute for Translational Medicine & Science, which does cellular, molecular, genetic and clinical research, will also be located there.

“This is one of those rare projects that when completed will be even more exciting than our original vision,” said Murphy Thursday. “The addition of the medical school and research facility will make this a one-of-a-kind facility and the medical and scientific breakthroughs made here will be felt for generations.”

“The project announced today has the potential to be the most meaningful and profound investment this state has ever made ... that will take innovation and discovery from the bench to the bedside,” Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said. “This investment will fuel the kind of innovation that unleashes the combined power of one of America’s greatest public research universities with industry and other academic partners to disrupt and transform the state and regional economies."

The Innovation and Technology Hub, or "Hub" as it's called, is not scheduled to open until 2024 or even later.

The Hub building itself will be owned by the city of New Brunswick; Rutgers, Princeton, Hackensack Meridian and RWJBarnabas will technically be "tenants."

Think of it as an innovation campus, said the governor. The goal of the Hub is to harness New Jersey's position as a leader in the fields of life sciences, healthcare, pharmaceutical, technology and data technology.

"This is where new businesses will be born and new jobs will be created," previously vowed Gov. Murphy. "Nowhere else will have such research power under one roof. These are businesses that will be able to walk down a hall and collaborate with science and pharmaceutical researchers."

"Think about all Rutgers does. Think about all Princeton does. Then think about that Rt. 1 corridor," he continued. "It is the ultimate 1 + 1 equals 3."

The governor said the door is "wide open" for private firms like Johnson & Johnson, Merck and others to rent space there.

The Hub will be connected to the $750 million Rutgers Cancer Pavilion, the first free-standing cancer treatment center in the state. Construction on the Cancer Pavilion just started this year.

Prior: Rutgers, Princeton Come Together Under One Roof At NJ Tech Hub (Nov. 2020)

Rutgers To Build First Free-Standing Cancer Hospital In NJ (May 2020)

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