CHOP got a $50 million gift from Mitchell Morgan and his family for its new research building
The Morgan Center for Research and Innovation is under construction next to the Robert Center for Pediatric Research on CHOP's Schuylkill Avenue campus near the South Street Bridge.
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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia on Tuesday announced a $50 million gift from real estate investor Mitchell L. Morgan and his family for a new $480 million research building under construction near the South Street Bridge in Philadelphia.
The 17-story, 350,000-square-foot facility, expected to open next year, will be named the Morgan Center for Research and Innovation. CHOP said the new building will significantly expand its laboratory research capacity for biomedical and molecular studies.
The Morgan Center is going up next to the Roberts Center for Pediatric Research, a $275 million building that opened in 2017 and was named for the family of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts following a $25 million gift.
Morgan and his wife, Hilarie, a former psychologist, have been longtime CHOP supporters and previously endowed a pediatric surgery position.
“We are incredibly grateful to Mitchell, Hilarie, and their family as they help us write this next, essential chapter of our storied 169-year history,” CHOP CEO Madeline Bell said in a press release. The new space will help recruit top physician-scientists to CHOP, she said.
Morgan is founder and CEO of Philadelphia-based Morgan Properties, which says on its website that it has more than 90,000 apartments in 19 states. He is also chairman of Temple University’s board.
“We are honored that our gift will enable CHOP to bolster research and innovation spearheaded by the next generation of scientific and medical leaders,” Morgan said.
The Morgan Center adds to a substantial list of recent and future construction projects at CHOP. In addition to the $336 million King of Prussia hospital that opened in early 2022, CHOP opened a $492 million Hub for Clinical Collaboration on its University City campus in the fall of 2022.
The hospital also plans a $1.9 billion patient tower that will replace the Wood Center on CHOP’s main campus. It will have more than 20 floors and is expected to open in 2028.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated on May 15, 2024, with the cost of the Morgan Center.