Vanderbilt University says it hopes to break ground next year on a nine-acre campus in downtown West Palm Beach that will be a “campus in an arboretum,” a lush academic oasis in the fast-developing city center that “fosters engagement with nature.”
In planning documents submitted to the city in July, the private university said its graduate business school campus would eventually include seven buildings enveloped by mature trees and connected by walking paths. The school estimates it will take at least a decade to build out the entire campus.
“Vanderbilt’s campus will be open, permeable, and connected to the fast-growing urban environment around it while also creating a distinctly academic environment that fosters engagement with nature,” the school
wrote in a pre-application report.
“This will be a ‘campus in an arboretum,’” the report continued, “a place that is uniquely Vanderbilt and unmistakably West Palm Beach which attracts current and future leaders to drive forward into bold new areas of growth.”
The first phase of construction will include a single building on the 800 block of Datura Street, two surface parking lots and a campus “quad” just to the south, the planning documents show. A university spokesperson said the school hopes to break ground on the first phase in mid-2027.
“This proposed phase represents an important milestone in laying the groundwork for Vanderbilt's long-term presence in West Palm Beach,” the spokesperson said.
Preliminary plans indicate the building would be up to five stories in height, with 115,000 square feet of indoor space. Two academic wings would be added to the building in later expansions.
The building would face north toward Datura Street, set back from the street to allow the preservation of mature trees and the creation of a landscaped gathering area with seating.
To the south of the building would be a landscaped grassy area that “will function as a central campus quad both on day one and as the campus grows around it.”
Eventually a building will be built south of Evernia Street facing toward the quad.
The campus will be built on about nine acres on two city blocks on the west side of downtown, bordered by Datura Street, Tamarind Avenue, Fern Street and Sapodilla Avenue.
To make the project happen, Palm Beach County’s government donated about five acres of land, the city donated two and Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene donated 1.3 acres.
The Nashville university envisions eventually building higher buildings along the east side of the campus. These buildings will be “sited around a monumental existing Banyan tree which will become a campus focal point,” according to the report.
“These buildings are expected to be taller than the initial phase buildings,” the report says, “stepping up in scale towards the urban core of West Palm Beach.”
The buildings on campus will be connected by a series of walking paths, which will move through “generously landscaped areas which are central to the creation of a ‘campus in an arboretum’, supporting academic and urban life and creating a distinct identity for Vanderbilt in West Palm Beach,” according to the report.
During the first phase of construction, the campus will use two surface parking lots with 121 spaces. Later, Vanderbilt envisions building a parking garage along the northwest corner of the campus, facing Tamarind Avenue.
Vanderbilt is asking the city to waive its usual standard parking requirements for universities, which require a parking space for every student and faculty member.
The school argues in planning documents that it should be permitted to build less than half that amount because of its location in a walkable downtown, near two passenger rail services. It also said it plans to give students incentives to use mass transit or carpool.
University leaders have said they expect the school to open in the fall of 2029.
Vanderbilt’s representatives have had preliminary discussions with city planning administrators, but they have not yet submitted an official application to develop the property, city spokesperson Kathleen Joy said. The plans still require city approval.
A university spokesperson said school leaders “continue to work with the City of West Palm Beach and look forward to ongoing conversations as our submission advances.”
“This partnership will help ensure the campus fits seamlessly within the community and supports the city’s long-term vision,” he said.
Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: In booming West Palm, Vanderbilt wants to build a campus in the trees
