Ground was broken in New Brunswick on Thursday for a new facility that medical experts and politicians hope will lead the charge in cancer treatment and research.

Gov. Phil Murphy, Mayor Jim Cahill, RWJ Barnabas Health President and CEO Barry Ostrowsky, Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway and other officials took part in the ceremonial groundbreaking for the state’s first free-standing cancer hospital.

The 510,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility for cancer treatment and research will be located in a state that typically ranks in the top 10 in the incidence of the disease and in which some 53,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer this year.

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The Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center will rise 12 stories into the New Brunswick sky thanks to the efforts of  RWJ Barnabas Health, the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Middlesex County, the City of New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Development Corporation.

DEVCO President Chris Paladino said construction on the Jack and Sheryl Morris Cancer Center should be completed by the end of 2024.