Rowan University unveils $690 million project it says could be part of a ‘new Silicon Valley’ in the Northeast

Rowan University is planning a $690 million development project backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in New Jersey tax credits that would feature healthcare facilities, housing at a walkable “wellness village,” and an advanced manufacturing center aimed at attracting private sector researchers and investors.

Located across 220 acres at the intersection of Routes 55 and 322 in Gloucester County, a half-hour drive south of Philadelphia, the project would include 1,000 homes, apartments, and retirement community units; a 160-room hotel and conference center; a community center called the Rowan Community Wellness Institute; an Inspira Health medical office building and administrative headquarters; and 56,000 square feet of retail space.

Planners envision professors living in the new homes, student engineers interning with manufacturers and nursing students with retirement homes or Inspira, dining experiences for the broader community, families enjoying green space, and seniors receiving care near or where they live.

That could help “stem the brain drain” of college students from South Jersey, officials said.

Rowan, a state university in Glassboro known for its engineering, business, and education programs, also is planning 350,000 square feet of facilities at its Center for Manufacturing Innovation. That is “designed to help companies move ideas from prototype to production faster, strengthening regional supply chains and creating high-paying technical jobs,” officials said.

The manufacturing hub would include centers focused on digital engineering and artificial intelligence. The center would provide leasable research space and opportunities for industry to locate research and development operations “alongside Rowan faculty and student research space,” the university said.

Rowan University president Ali A. Houshmand says the project — built across a swath of land about one-fifth the size of Philadelphia’s Navy Yard — could be transformational, especially in concert with other medical institutions and universities stretching from New York to Maryland.

“We have all these assets, and we are sandwiched between the economic and political capital of the world, as well as Philadelphia, that is the cultural capital of America,” he said on a call with reporters Friday. Over the next 20 to 30 years, he said, collectively the region could become “the new Silicon Valley.”

Houshmand said he previously resisted entreaties from local elected officials to sell the land for construction of warehouses. Another developer has been pursuing a warehouse project nearby, but that has been “derailed” by a “rogue employee,” according to a lawsuit filed by Active Acquisitions.

Rowan is partnering with managing developer Fairmount Properties of Orange Village, Ohio. It has experience working with healthcare institutions and universities, such as Ball State in Indiana and Marshall in West Virginia.

The university is contributing the land — part of some 600 acres it bought 25 years ago, Houshmand said. Fairmount will invest up to $60 million, said principal Randy Ruttenberg, adding there will be traditional first-mortgage financing.

Fairmount has submitted an application to the state Economic Development Authority seeking designation as a “transformative” project under New Jersey’s Aspire gap-financing program for commercial development, Ruttenberg said. That would make the project eligible for up to $400 million in state tax credits.

Ruttenberg said he hasn’t discussed the project with Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s office, but added his team has met with EDA officials. The authority’s board members are mostly appointed by the governor.

Officials said the project would create more than 5,000 jobs — mostly in construction but also 900 permanent ones — and generate $14.3 million in annual tax revenues.

The expansion comes as Rowan says it has nearly doubled enrollment over the last 12 years to 24,500 students. Previously, in 2012 Rowan partnered with Cooper University Health Care to open the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden — South Jersey’s first four-year medical school.

The plan for a “wellness village” was inspired by longevity research, officials said. It envisions 250 apartments for rent; 410 for-sale homes, including both single-family and townhouse units; and 340 retirement community units that include both assisted and independent living.

“This will not be a large commercial project … [with] imposing structures,” Ruttenberg said. “It will be well-planned and thought through, like each of our developments are, and we’ll put people and experiences first and foremost.”

The project will be in the university’s West Campus in Harrison Township and Glassboro, officials said. The construction timeline depends on municipal approvals. Ruttenberg estimated it could take five to six years to build the wellness village. “A lot of these buildings are committed, and there is pent up demand for a lot of the rest of it,” he said.

The manufacturing center could take longer, he said.

Officials said they plan to hold town hall meetings about the project this spring.