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Vanderbilt to Build Housing for Graduate, Professional Students

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/28/21

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., will begin construction this week on a housing development for graduate and professional students. Construction was originally slated to begin in summer 2020 but was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s scheduled to be finished in time to house residents for the 2023-24 school year.

“This important project will further strengthen our support of graduate and professional students by providing an environment in which they can engage and learn from one another beyond the classroom,” said Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. “These informal spaces for collaboration are central to our mission of shaping the future leaders of tomorrow and to empowering scholars to think boldly across disciplines.”

The new facility will lie adjacent to campus in midtown Nashville. The design is set to include about 615 beds, a fitness center, a collaborative workspace, and a public courtyard. The ground floor will feature retail establishments open to both residents and the larger community.

In a public-private partnership, Vanderbilt teamed with Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions (a developer and operator of higher-education infrastructure projects) and Axium Infrastructure (an independent portfolio management firm) for the project. Balfour Beatty and Axium will develop, operate, and maintain the facility, according to the terms of the agreement.

“The university’s graduate and professional housing development plan is essential as we continue to attract and retain some of the best students from across the country and the globe while building on the growth and achievement of our schools,” said André Christie-Mizell, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education. “While the pandemic has certainly impacted our timeline, we never lost sight of our long-term goals, and we are excited to once again focus on this important effort.”

The new housing development—to be known as Graduate Village—is just one of several efforts by the university since 2016 benefitting post-baccalaureate students. Others include additions and renovations to the schools of nursing and divinity, renovations to the Walker Management Library in the Owen Graduate School of Management, and renovations to the Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

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