A rendering of the Drexel College of Medicine branch campus that will be built in West Reading through an agreement with Tower Health.

Tower Health has selected a location for construction of a 200,000-square-foot building for a four-year regional campus of Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by Tower Health with Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. to build the new campus on Parcel 9 of The Knitting Mills redevelopment, which was formally known as The VF Outlets. The site, which is 0.6 miles from Reading Hospital, and selected in part for its proximity to the hospital, will be operational for the 2021-22 academic year. When fully operational, the campus will educate 200 students.

"This is an exciting step in Tower Health's evolution of our academic mission," said Clint Matthews, Tower Health's president and CEO. "Our affiliation with Drexel, one of the finest medical schools in the country, will help us address projected physician shortages in our region, bring improved access and services to our patients, and provide significant economic benefit to the entire Reading area."

"The new campus in Reading is cause for excitement, as it opens up new training opportunities for Drexel College of Medicine students and enhances Tower Health's impact throughout the region," said Drexel President John Fry. 

Tower Health intends to begin the zoning approval process for the new school building in the near future.

This news release has been updated since it was published to reflect a change in when the first-year medical students will begin their education at the Reading location. Education, classroom and lab instruction will no longer take place at a temporary site but will begin once the new building is complete.