Cooper Street Gateway Project

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Render Credit: Douglas Shelton

On May 9th 2024, the construction of the Cooper Street Gateway Project officially broke ground. At the ceremony, Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis and others took up shovels and made the ceremonial first moves towards the construction of the new facility on the 400 Block of Cooper Street and Lawrence Street. The 50 thousand-square-foot facility is aiming to open by fall 2026 and cost approximately $60 million. The project will consist of an outdoor meeting space, a three-story building that will be the new home of the College of Arts and Science, and renovations for the Lawrence Street homes to provide accommodations for visiting families.

Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis and others breaking ground. Credit: Ron Downes Jr.

The thirteen lots and eleven structures the site previously comprised has been vacant for some time. Despite this, the buildings are part of Camden’s Cooper Street Historic District due to their historical importance.

To preserve the history of these buildings and the city, the facades of the buildings will be renovated and kept. Despite this, some dilapidated structures must be demolished. To ensure the preservation of the site’s history, the university has retained Clark Caton Hintz, a NJ-based firm that is “known for its expertise in historic preservation,” according to Chancellor Tillis. The firm has worked on projects such as The Hun School of Princeton’s New Dormitory, the Ocean County Justice Complex, and historic preservation projects such as the Hinchliffe Stadium. Currently, the process of choosing a developer is underway. To learn more about the history of the 400 Cooper Street block, visit MARCH’s page about the 400 block.

Terrain image from Google Maps. The red circle contains the house on Lawrence Street to be renovated. The purple circle contains the derelict and vacant buildings to be demolished and the new site of the building.

The Cooper Street Gateway Project is part of a larger program to upgrade and improve Rutgers Camden, according to Chancellor Tillis during March 27, 2024’s SGA meeting. The chancellor mentioned some of the improvements, such as the Walter K. Gordon Theater having been recarpeted during spring break of 2024 and Starbucks having closed in March of 2024 for renovations. He also announced that the Stedman Theater and the Digital Studies buildings are renovation targets. After the construction of the new College of Arts and Sciences building classroom space will open up in Armitage allowing for new potential uses. Plans have not yet been confirmed for the opened-up space. Students will be waiting eagerly for more updates on the Project.

Sources:

https://camden.rutgers.edu/chancellor-messages/cooper-street-gateway-project

https://stories.camden.rutgers.edu/rutgers-university-camden-breaks-ground-on-transformative-60-million-project/index.html