Vanderbilt University Pitches $520M Campus In West Palm Beach

It’s official: Vanderbilt University, one of the nation’s best-ranked higher ed institutions, wants to build a $520 million campus in West Palm Beach, Fla.

The 300,000-square-foot campus would house 1,000 students, according to a filing to Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach. Plans call for the construction of a main academic building, student housing, and a parking garage. Education programs would include business, artificial intelligence, data science as well as a so-called innovation hub. 

The campus would be nestled between the civic center and Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Downtown West Palm Beach. Of the estimated $519.6 million construction cost, $267.6 million would go towards academic buildings, $217.4 million for student housing and $34.6 million for parking. Schooling programs could start as soon as Fall 2026.

The West Palm Beach City Commission will consider donating city-owned parcels 386 South Tamarind Avenue, 810 to 910 Evernia Street and 913 Fern Street to Vanderbilt on August 19. A day later, the Palm Beach County Commission will consider Vanderbilt’s campus proposal.

For months, rumors have swirled that the Nashville-based private university was looking to set up shop in the city after plans for a University of Florida campus failed. 

Local billionaires and officials have sought a prominent university to expand to the area to cater to the financial companies that opened offices in West Palm Beach since the pandemic hit. These include some of the biggest Wall Street names, such as J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Elliott Management.  

In April, billionaire developer Stephen Ross, who is West Palm Beach’s largest Class A office landlord, hosted a reception at his Palm Beach mansion with Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Bloomberg reported. The pair wanted to raise $300 million for the campus, of which $100 million has already been committed. 

Julia Echikson can be reached at jechikson@commercialobserver.com.