JLL released its New Jersey Medical Office Building Report for the second quarter, and it indicates patient care is migrating toward outpatient sites throughout the state.
The JLL report puts outpatient growth from 2024 to 2029 is forecast at 7.1%, compared with 7.8% for the United States overall for the same period. Over that same period, the Garden State’s inpatient growth rate is predicted to slip 0.5% compared with a decline of 1.0% for the U.S.
Outpatient facilities offer increased convenience by bringing care closer to patients’ homes, rather than having to travel to a centralized hospital campus.
To promote outpatient growth and gain market share, health-care systems are expanding their real-estate footprints by either acquiring or contracting with physician groups to add specialties.
JLL said a lack of large block modern medical space availabilities in New Jersey will continue to encourage health-care providers and building owners to consider the redevelopment of obsolete office sites. With their open layouts and proximity to consumers, retail properties have also historically been attractive to health-care conversions.
In mid-2025, construction continued on Hackensack Meridian Health’s new 240,000-square-foot headquarters and medical office building being developed adjacent to the Metropark Train Station. In Nutley, Hackensack Meridian recently opened its new 90,000-square-foot health and wellness center at the ON3 mixed-use campus.
The new 12-story 520,000-square-foot RWJ Barnabas Health Jack Morris Cancer Center at 165 Somerset St. in New Brunswick was completed in May 2025. It is the state’s only freestanding cancer hospital and one of 13 such facilities across the nation.
Among the completed sales during the quarter was Pentaurus Properties’ purchase of 310 Madison Ave. in Morristown for $13.2 million, or $226 per square foot. The 58,440-square-foot medical outpatient building was fully leased to multiple tenants at the time of sale.
Bergen County has the most outpatient inventory at 4,220,512 square feet, followed by Middlesex (4,173,837), and Monmouth (3,105,545).
