After pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche — now known as Roche — shut down its Nutley, N.J.-based site in 2012, the campus has been empty. But New Jersey officials believe that's about to change.
Instead of vying for a shopping mall or hotel, officials hope to use the space to create the lobby of New Jersey's first private medical school in over 60 years, according to The New York Times.
The school would be a joint endeavor of South Orange, N.J.-based Seton Hall University and Hackensack (N.J.) University Health Network. Seton Hall had a medical school in the 1950s, but sold it to the state in 1964.
Officials have high hopes for the school, which would be New Jersey's only private four-year medical school. Its creation would add an additional 271 permanent jobs to the area, and officials are looking to surround it with related businesses, a hotel and a conference center.
Erik Lillquist, Seton Hall's associate provost for academic projects, said the university hopes to move some of its related departments to the campus in 2017. But the school still has work to do before it can open its doors. Planners still need to seek public financing for the project, which could require nearly $17 million. The medical school also must obtain accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
Nonetheless, many still have high hopes about the possibilities the medical school can bring. "When Roche first announced that they were leaving, I said we're going to take this lemon and make lemonade," said James Anzaldi, mayor of the nearby town of Clifton. "Now, I think we're going to get some high-end lemonade."