Billionaire developer Jeff Greene and his wife Mei Sze Greene are donating 1.3 acres of land valued at $80 million to Vanderbilt University’s downtown West Palm Beach campus, according to a March 23 report.
The donation increases the footprint of the planned university site, which had already received a seven-acre contribution from the City of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County in 2024. Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the new gift will reshape how the campus is designed, allowing for “a cohesive campus, where classrooms, labs and community spaces come together seamlessly,” he said in a statement.
Vanderbilt University is ranked as the seventeenth best university nationally by U.S. News and World Report. The planned West Palm Beach campus will focus on graduate programs in business and technology, with an expected enrollment of about 1,000 students and at least 200 employees as outlined in its agreement with Palm Beach County. Construction costs are projected at $520 million.
Vanderbilt launched a $300 million fundraising campaign after securing initial approvals for the project last year. In January, it announced plans to move forward with construction alongside a second phase of fundraising aimed at raising an additional $250 million.
Greene had previously agreed to donate five acres for a proposed University of Florida campus downtown before that plan fell through due to disagreements over naming rights. His latest gift follows other real estate industry contributions supporting Vanderbilt’s expansion into West Palm Beach since it was first proposed in 2024; Steve Ross committed $50 million while Cody Crowell donated $5 million and has advocated publicly for the project.
The development signals continued strong support from local business leaders for higher education expansion in South Florida.
