Originally developed in Woodbury as “Underwood Hospital”, the now unused Inspira-owned hospital building on Broad Street is at the beginning stages of a year-long demolition effort which is to include the main large building, as well as a second smaller Medical Arts building directly behind it.
Remaining in place are the adjacent large parking garage and Woodbury Medical Center building… they are not being demolished, and are in-use.
Construction fencing appeared this week at the Broad Street hospital property (bordered by Red Bank and Oak) which had locals questioning what was to take place at the site. 42Freeway reached out to the Inspira media team…
Inspira Health can confirm that demolition activity at our Woodbury campus is in progress and will continue through early spring 2026. This includes both our Medical Arts building and the former hospital.
Inspira is committed to the safety of our patients, staff and community, and we are working closely with our neighbors and local businesses to minimize any potential impact to their business during this phase of activity. As with any construction project, the dates for demolition may be subject to change or delay, and will share updates as they become available.
Inspira Health – Media Team
A future use for the property has not been formally decided on (announced).
Possibly related to the timing of the demolition is the City of Woodbury has been looking to remove the nonprofit status of the building (or specific floors), stating that the building is no longer used for non-profit purposes. For Inspira this would mean they would have to pay property taxes on the property and buildings.
While this has not been stated as a catalyst for the current demolition activity at the building, clearly removing the significant improvements on the property (hospital buildings), would reduce the value of the total property and likewise reduce the property tax amount paid to the City, if required.
Inspira Woodbury “Underwood” Hospital
The Woodbury Hospital building has been mostly unused since 2019 when Inspira opened their brand new $356 Million hospital in Mullica Hill.
At that time, most of the Inspira 1,600 staff members moved over to the Mullica Hill hospital, but for several years the legacy Woodbury hospital building still was home to the Emergency Room and Behavioral Health Departments.
Last fall those two units moved out of the main hospital building into an all-new construction two-story medical facility developed directly next to the hospital property… leaving the iconic Woodbury hospital building empty.
Over recent years there has been much conversation and research into new uses for the hospital building and property.
Inspira has been working with Consultants, the City of Woodbury and other government entities to determine a forward plan for the Woodbury property.
Some of the discussed plans focused on a simpler repurpose use of the existing building, while others offered more ambitious options including the complete demolition of the hospital to make way for all new developments.
Back in 2023 42Freeway wrote about some of those considered plans, none of which have been identified as the go-to direction.
Despite all of that research an official forward direction for the property has not been announced.
City of Woodbury – Property Taxes Are To Be Paid
The hospital building now being unused after the relocation of the two departments is likely a key part of the plans to demolish the building, so that Inspira can move forward with future redevelopment plans.
Additionally though, New Jersey court documents show that the City of Woodbury had been looking to change the nonprofit status of the building (or at least its upper floors), which if confirmed would have meant that Inspira would have to pay property taxes on the property and the building. (NJCourts.Gov PDF)
The argument from Woodbury is that a hospital’s nonprofit status (which allows them to not pay property taxes) is only valid on properties where non-profit work is taking place within the spaces.
The assessor review was originally done when the 2 units were still in the lower portions of the hospital building, and at the time the assessor determined the remaining 6 upper floors were to be assessed at full value.
The Tax Court of New Jersey Opinion describes the perspective of the property’s status of both Woodbury and Inspira. (NJCourts.Gov PDF)
I’m not an attorney and don’t want to dive in much deeper on the topic… feel free to read the Opinion at the NJ Courts website.
That being said, the removal of the buildings should greatly reduce the overall value of the property and reduce any property taxes (if owed). If the long-term plan is new development for the Broad Street property, there may have been some value for Inspira in simply moving up the demolition timeline.
Links and Location
Former Inspira Woodbury Hospital Building 509 N Broad StWoodbury, NJ 08096
Inspira