Rutgers University–Camden, a regional campus of Rutgers University, recently announced the topping out of its Cooper Street Gateway Project, designed by Clarke Caton Hintz.

Located in downtown Camden, N.J., the $60 million redevelopment initiative will unify historic buildings with new academic and community spaces.

The multiphase redevelopment combines new construction with adaptive reuse into “a unified, community-focused campus hub,” Christopher Anderson, senior vice president at Skanska USA Building, said in a statement.

Skanska Integrated Solutions is providing owner representative and reporting services to the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. Skanska is helping to validate and monitor the use of funding throughout construction of the project, which is receiving $31 million from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund.

The project involves 13 lots and 11 historic buildings along Cooper and Lawrence Streets, as well as a new three-story structure and an event plaza located in the existing buildings’ rear yards. 

By placing the new construction mostly behind the historic properties, the project preserves the neighborhood’s historic streetscape. The adaptive reuse and renovation of the historic properties also help preserve the area’s architectural character.

The new facility will consolidate faculty spaces currently spread across five campus buildings for Rutgers–Camden’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In addition, the project will create flexible, public-facing event and gathering spaces intended for initiatives that contribute to stronger, healthier communities. 

“This project, which artfully weaves new steel into historic Cooper Street wood-framed buildings, is one of the most technologically challenging capital projects I’ve had the pleasure of working on,” David C. Schulz, vice president and university architect for the Rutgers Division of Institutional Planning and Operations, said in the statement. 

Schulz continued, “Its structural connections, temporary shoring and stabilization, laser-focused demolition, energy conservation measures hidden behind historic masonry facades, and preservation of physical fabric of the historic Cooper Street rowhouses are all carefully designed and constructed.”

Construction on the Cooper Street Gateway Project began in 2024 and is expected to reach completion in 2027.

On the project team: Rutgers University–Camden (owner), Clarke Caton Hintz (design architect and architect of record), McHugh Engineering Associates (MEP engineer), Harrison-Hamnett Consulting (structural engineer), INTECH Construction (general contractor).