VANDERBILT’S WEST PALM BEACH CAMPUS MOVES FORWARD WITH BACKING FROM BILLIONAIRE ROSS

(Bloomberg) -- Vanderbilt University is moving forward with a new campus in West Palm Beach for about 1,000 students, after raising enough of its initial $300 million fundraising goal, according to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier.

The West Palm Beach campus, which will focus on finance, engineering and technology for graduate students, is now seeking to raise another $250 million in its second fundraising stage. Real estate billionaire Stephen Ross was a significant financial backer.

The outpost will sit on land donated by the city and county and university officials said they expect construction to be completed in the fall of 2029, with some campus activities starting earlier. 

Ross, the founder of Related Cos. who now runs Related Ross and owns the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, has played a major role in developing downtown West Palm Beach and is seeking to transform it into a finance and business center. His firm is building office and residential towers and he’s donated some $50 million to the Vanderbilt project.

“It’s a very exciting and big milestone for the university,” Diermeier said in an interview. 

In an economic impact study, Vanderbilt estimated it would spend more than $500 million on construction, and generate $7 billion in economic activity in the area over the next 25 years. Vanderbilt alum and real estate developer Cody Crowell was another notable donor, according to a school statement. 

The school will serve mostly graduate students, although there will be space for some college students to spend a semester there, as well as executive education and workforce training programs. 

Through his extensive real estate development plans in the area, Ross has said he aims to address quality-of-life issues ranging from housing and healthcare to education and entertainment in hopes that it will help attract and retain talent that firms can hire locally. 

West Palm Beach is located across the Intracoastal Waterway from Palm Beach in South Florida, about 70 miles north of Miami.

Vanderbilt, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is also opening a campus in New York this fall and is looking at another one in San Francisco. At a time when the Trump administration has sought to punish elite universities for a host of issues including an alleged left-leaning bias, Vanderbilt has managed to avoid investigations and confrontation. The university doesn’t take stances on external political or social issues, espousing “institutional neutrality.”

Founded in 1873, Vanderbilt is one of the richest US colleges with an endowment of $11 billion. 

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2026-01-12T14:07:10Z