George Norcross has been around politics and policies long enough that he is not bothered by bold statements from key officeholders.
That’s why, when Alina Habba, in her first comments after being selected by President Donald Trump as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, made seemingly derogatory claims about crime in Camden, Norcross wasn’t outraged or offended. And he didn’t think the comments hurt a city he has spent a lifetime working to build up.
Norcross, the chairman of Cooper University Health Care and a longtime powerbroker in the region, knows Camden is safer than it has been in years by all metrics. And he said he welcomes anyone who wants to make the city even safer.
“I don’t think her comments were damaging at all,” he said. “In some ways, I think they were very complimentary, because Camden is at a 50-year low in its crime.
“We obviously welcome anyone and everybody that’s going to be involved in reducing crime across the state of New Jersey, and for it to be an even greater priority than perhaps it’s been in recent years. We would welcome, with open arms, her initiative to reduce crime in Camden. That’d be terrific, awesome.”
Norcross made his remarks during an exclusive interview with BINJE in mid-April — an interview that touched on a wide range of subjects.
Norcross spoke at a New Jersey Alliance for Action event earlier in the month, but his 38-minute conversation with BINJE was his first (and only) media interview since Judge Peter Warsaw dismissed a 13-count racketeering indictment against him and five others in February.
Norcross did not want to offer his thoughts on the decision — “Judge Warsaw’s 94-page opinion spoke for itself,” he said — but he did weigh in on the other big story in Camden recently, the state’s efforts to lure the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers with a new arena that would anchor an entertainment region in the city.
Norcross was pleased that Gov. Phil Murphy and the state made an “incredible, lucrative package” to the Sixers. He noted that when Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (the owners of the Sixers) moved its corporate headquarters and training facility to Camden that it was a big boost for the city. And, while Norcross would have loved to have the team play its games in Camden, too, he said he knew such a move was a long shot.
“I’ve seen this rodeo four or five times before, under different ownership, whether it be the 76ers or the (Philadelphia) Flyers,” he said. “Obviously, we would have been gratified and very eager and excited if a facility like that would have come to Camden, but I was realistic.
“The Sixers and the Flyers are always going to want to be in Philadelphia, without a doubt — but it would have worked (here), had it not worked in Philadelphia.”
The good news for Camden? It is working here. Efforts by Norcross, private industry and local and state officials have led to dramatic improvements in the past 15 years.
When Habba comes to visit, she’ll find that crime is way down — at a 55-year low. Since 2012, the city has seen steep drops in the number of homicides (down 75%) and violent crime (down 50%).
Others will find that education metrics are way up in the same period, as students have shrunk the achievement gap in standardized testing by 42%, while the graduation rate has climbed more than 20 percentage points (up to 70%).
Companies may find it’s hard to find Class A office space — a key reason the city recently announced plans for its first new office building in a generation, the proposed 25-story, 500,000-square-foot Beacon building, which will stand next to the Walter Rand Transportation Center, which is in the middle of a $250 million renovation.
Of course, so much of this success can be traced to Cooper University Health Care, which recently announced a $3 billion expansion known as Project Imagine.
Norcross noted the transformation.
“Camden has gone from the city my father grew up in, when Campbell Soup, RCA, New York Shipbuilding made it an industrial manufacturing city, to now, where it’s an eds & meds mecca for Southern New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, maybe even all of New Jersey,” he said.
“It’s been transformed over the last 10 to 15 years.”
Norcross discussed the changes — and how Camden is helping to impact all of Southern New Jersey — during the 40-minute conversation. He also gave his take on the current gubernatorial race, including an unfortunate side of it (read that here), and an interesting idea to help develop Atlantic City’s economy (read that in the coming days).
Here’s more of the interview, presented in a question-and-answer format, which will include slight editing to improve flow and context.
BINJE: Let’s start with Cooper, one of the anchor institutions of the city. Project Imagine will eventually include three new patient towers (accommodating up to 745 all-private inpatient beds) as well as enhanced and expanded surgical and interventional capacity, a state-of-the-art emergency department and a bridge connecting to MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper. Oh, and thousands of jobs, too.
George Norcross: Cooper is among the finest academic health systems in the region. We compete with Penn (Medicine), one of the finest institutions in the country, Jefferson Health and any other major institution in New Jersey every day.
If you need surgery, complicated surgery in particular, or any kind of trauma care, you come here, because we’re the Level One trauma care center in the area.
The biggest challenge we have at the moment is to keep up with the volume, the double-digit volume growth that we’ve had for years. I don’t think there’s a single system in New Jersey that’s even approached that kind of growth.
We have to address it while making sure that we continue to have our patient scores at the levels they enjoy today — and making sure that our patients are our best fans when they leave the institution.
BINJE: A big part of Cooper’s success has been its partnership with MD Anderson, among others. Talk about that.
GN: Obviously, the anchor is Cooper, but there’s also the emergence of the Rutgers nursing school, which is among the larger nursing schools in the region. There’s the Cooper Rowan Medical School, which has had record applications. The Coriell Institute, which is internationally renowned, is about to engage in building their own new facility on the Cooper campus. They need to quadruple the amount of space they have.
And then, there’s MD Anderson, which is well known as the finest cancer institute in the galaxy. There are going to be a number of announcements this summer, equally important in terms of new facilities, that we’re going to be bringing to the Cooper MD Anderson campus.
So, in addition to the $3 billion expansion and restoration at Cooper, you will have so many different projects that are going on that include public education, where there’s been well over a billion dollars spent, and more along the way. All of these things are helping to transform this city.
BINJE: Let’s turn away from eds & meds. One of the success stories for Camden has been bringing Holtec International here. How was Camden able to lure a company that makes products for storing nuclear fuel?
GN: There’s a reason Camden became Camden: It’s the proximity to the Delaware River, its rail lines, its road transportation. In Camden, you can get to Philadelphia through two bridges and immediately connect with interstate rail lines.
That’s a big reason Holtec moved here. They’re one of two companies in the world that build nuclear space and facilities to care for spent nuclear fuel. The canisters that they build are shipped all over the world. You need rail and you need water to be able to move these things.
They are also developing their small nuclear reactor, which is going to be commonplace soon. Today in New Jersey, we have a serious discussion over electric rates going up 30% to 40%. People have never experienced that kind of rate increase. You’re seeing people gravitate back to nuclear clean energy.
BINJE: What does that mean for Camden’s economy?
GN: A company that has little competition around the world for producing small nuclear reactors is going to bring six-figure jobs for men and women in this vicinity who are well trained, because you need to be well trained to work at Holtec. It’s not just straight labor jobs.
I’ve said this before: Holtec International will be the largest employer in the city of Camden in 10 years. It will exceed Cooper Hospital/MD Anderson.
We’re talking to other companies about relocating to Camden, but there is no additional square footage of Class A office space available in the city. That’s why the Beacon came to be.
BINJE: Tell us more about the Beacon — and the Walter Rand Transportation Center.
GN: Camden County wanted to create a new place for their civil courts — and wanted it to be part of a huge new complex that would be adjacent to the new transit center, so people who move to the suburban Camden County area can move in and out to Philadelphia.
The light rail line that’s being contemplated is going to link with Camden. And I think you’re going to see a faster rail line go to Atlantic City, as it should.
BINJE: Such rail systems will bring together Southern New Jersey like never before.
GN: You’re absolutely right. I tend to be focused on Camden city and Cooper, but this is about Camden County and the seven southern counties. For many decades, South Jersey has felt it was a separate state unto itself, and those in leadership positions didn’t tend to pay too much attention to South Jersey. We may be around 30% of the general population of the state, but probably not until Gov. (Jim) Florio assumed office (in 1990) did things start to change.
Most people from north of Exit 6 think of South Jersey as the casinos in Atlantic City. That’s hardly South Jersey.
BINJE: You and your family, starting with your father, have been instrumental in the growth of Camden, the city and county, as well as all of Southern New Jersey. This must be gratifying to see.
GN: Camden obviously lost its way for a number of decades, but it’s now regained a position of some prominence. You’re seeing people now look at the opportunity to be in this spectacular location. It doesn’t get any better.
