ATLANTIC CITY – The New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority today transferred ownership of land on Ohio Avenue in Atlantic City to AtlantiCare. The healthcare organization will build a Medical Arts Pavilion on the site.
Groundbreaking is anticipated to take place the first quarter of 2021, pending the CRDA board’s vote on the site plan at its Dec. 15 meeting.
The CRDA donated the land at the corner of Ohio and Atlantic avenues, valued at $3 million, to AtlantiCare. It has pledged an additional $15 million in grant funding toward the $38,338,000 project. The three-story, 69,700-square-foot facility will enable AtlantiCare to expand the care it provides, including at its William L. Gormley AtlantiCare HealthPlex.
“With the Atlantic City area having one of the highest infant mortality rates in the state, the AtlantiCare Medical Arts Pavilion project will help facilitate the expansion of treatment for mothers and babies at the greatest risk,” CRDA Board Chairman Robert Mulcahy said.
“This facility exemplifies the priorities of Gov. Murphy’s administration, which are combining both economic development and addressing the needs of the residents of Atlantic City,” CRDA Executive Director Matt Doherty said.
“We are pleased to be a step closer to enhancing the programs and services we offer the Atlantic City community,” said AtlantiCare president and CEO Lori Herndon.
“Our Medical Arts Pavilion will in part, enable us to expand our work in addressing social determinants of health and preventing disparities in healthcare,” Herndon said.
Highlights of the facility will include expansion of the undergraduate and graduate medical education programs, enhancement of high-risk maternity care, and expansion of family planning services.
“We are grateful for the support of CRDA and our board as we continue our focus on building healthy communities together. We thank those on our planning team for their commitment to providing members of our community with the care and services they need and deserve,” she said.
The location is across the street from AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s Atlantic City Campus. It is also where AtlantiCare began serving the community more than 120 years ago. The city’s first and only hospital – Atlantic City Hospital – opened in a converted house on Ohio Avenue in 1898. It expanded to a two-campus hospital with the opening of its Mainland Campus in Pomona, Galloway Township in 1975.
The hospital’s Board of Governors established the regional healthcare system, AtlantiCare, in 1993. The organization now serves the community in five counties of southern NJ.
