Vanderbilt University is asking Florida officials to approve its proposal to construct a $520 million campus within the affluent Palm Beach area, tapping right into a growing region undergoing transformation with recent offices of economic firms.
The Nashville-based university plans to construct 300,000 square feet of space for 1,000 students and greater than 100 faculty members. The West Palm Beach site was previously earmarked by the University of Florida for the same project that ultimately failed.
The first step will come this week. Vanderbilt officials are asking West Palm Beach to donate city and county land for the campus. West Palm Beach is on the mainland, directly across the road from mansion-lined Palm Beach on the Intracoastal Waterway.
“We are exploring the potential to expand our business education and computer science programs to West Palm Beach, a region experiencing tremendous growth and investment in private equity, venture capital, fintech and investment banking,” Vanderbilt said in an emailed statement. “We are in the early stages of discussions with local leaders.”
Before Vanderbilt can proceed with construction, the county and city must conduct an in depth review of the project after which put it to a vote – a process that can take no less than a month, Palm Beach County Mayor Maria Sachs said. On Monday, town agreed to that review, and the county is scheduled to review Vanderbilt’s plan on Tuesday.
A Shortage The wide selection of elite schools – from kindergarten through college – is a serious problem for a wave of young, wealthy families moving to South Florida from New York, California and elsewhere to work at firms corresponding to Ken Griffin’s Citadel, Blackstone Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. And there’s a shortage of top universities to develop the talent for those firms.
The potential expansion of a prestigious Florida university highlights the dichotomy in American higher education today. Smaller universities with declining student numbers and few resources are closing, while an elite group of universities like Vanderbilt have the means to expand.
Vanderbilt, one in every of America’s richest universities with an almost $10 billion endowment, plans to open the satellite campus on land originally promised to the University of Florida. The planned campus, scheduled to open as early as fall 2026, will give attention to business, artificial intelligence and data science programs, in accordance with Plans with West Palm Beach County. Vanderbilt will ask regional donors, including alumni, to assist cover startup costs.
After the agreement with the University of Florida fell through, Vanderbilt alumni tried to lure the university to West Palm Beach last yr. Vanderbilt was already considering a second campus, and Chancellor Daniel Diermeier began West Palm Beach after being approached by local alumni at a Vanderbilt football game.
Vanderbilt has greater than 1,100 alumni within the West Palm Beach area, and so they have developed a plan to lift $300 million to fund a campus. In April, billionaire developer Steve Ross hosted a reception for Diermeier at his Palm Beach mansion to debate fundraising plans and alumni support.
Ross played a Main role in the event of downtown West Palm Beach, where the campus will likely be built with recent office and residential towers.
