Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine is planning to build a nearly $300 million cancer center at Princeton Medical Center. The effort aims to differentiate the hospital in Plainsboro, N.J., as a leader in advanced medicine amid increased competition from other institutions in the region, executives said during a Feb. 29 board meeting when the plans were approved, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
During the University of Pennsylvania board meeting, executives said a range of possibilities were considered to elevate Princeton's offerings, but cancer stood out amid competition from West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health, which includes Rutgers Cancer Institute, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Plans for the 195,000-square-foot facility — which will adjoin Princeton Medical Center — include more than 40 exam rooms, at least 30 infusion chairs and two linear accelerators. The total cost of the project is $401 million and includes plans for a six-level parking garage and a 31,000-square-foot outpatient imaging center.
Construction on the garage will begin in 2026, with construction on the cancer and imaging center set to begin in 2028, a spokesperson told Becker's. Care teams at the cancer center will collaborate with physicans across Penn Medicine who work at the system's Philadelphia-based Abramson Cancer Center.
"Cancer is our sweet spot, so we opted to push forward on an advanced platform around the cancer program," Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which is part of Penn, said during the meeting, the Inquirer reported.