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CHOP pays $17.5 million to buy property for a new medical center in New Jersey

CHOP plans to build its new medical center on an old AMC movie theater site in Hamilton Township.

Madeline Bell, CEO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says the hospital wants to bring "high-quality care" and services closer to New Jersey's children.
Madeline Bell, CEO of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says the hospital wants to bring "high-quality care" and services closer to New Jersey's children. Read moreCLEM MURRAY / Staff Photographer

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is planning to build a new medical center at the site of a shuttered AMC movie theater in Mercer County, New Jersey.

CHOP purchased the 42-acre property in Hamilton Township for $17.5 million on July 25, according to records filed with the Mercer County Clerk’s Office.

Hospital CEO Madeline Bell did not provide further details but said the proposed expansion is part of CHOP’s “aim to make pediatric care available as close to home as possible.”

“We’re looking forward to the future of bringing high-quality care, expanded services, and improved convenience to the families of Central New Jersey and the broader region,” Bell said last week in a statement.

The AMC theater on Sloane Avenue closed in 2020 during the pandemic; EPR Properties sold it to CHOP in deal brokered by Newmark, a New York City-based commercial real estate firm.

Local county and township officials said they were committed to helping CHOP redevelop the site.

“Hamilton Township is excited to welcome CHOP to town,” Mayor Jeff Martin said in a statement. “As a parent to a young child, I know the concern of every parent for their child’s health, and having CHOP here in our backyard ensures the children of Hamilton will always have easy access to the best possible medical care.”

Mercer County Executive Dan Benson said CHOP’s planned new medical center would “breathe new life into the old AMC site, while bringing good-paying jobs to our community and improving the health of our region’s children.”

CHOP already has a significant healthcare footprint in New Jersey, with specialty care centers in Voorhees and Egg Harbor Township in South Jersey, and another one in Princeton.

Last month, CHOP announced it would add Delaware’s ChristianaCare to its network of affiliated health systems. ChristianaCare is Delaware’s largest health system. The agreement is expected to take effect next spring.