Vanderbilt University is moving ahead with plans to build a $520 million graduate campus in West Palm Beach. The Nashville-based institution announced that the new campus will focus on graduate programs in business and technology, marking a significant step after receiving initial project approvals over a year ago.
The initiative has been supported by several prominent real estate figures. Steve Ross, billionaire chairman of Related Companies, pledged $50 million to the project last April. Ross has also organized fundraising events for Vanderbilt and spoken publicly about the importance of bringing a major university to West Palm Beach. “To pass up this opportunity would be a crime,” he said at a county meeting in 2024. “There’s no place that’s ever grown that doesn’t have great universities, great schools.”
Ross is actively involved in development projects across West Palm Beach, including large office and residential towers. He has also facilitated Cleveland Clinic’s expansion into the city by supporting its planned outpatient center at 15 CityPlace and donating funds toward an additional hospital facility on South Australian Avenue.
Other key donors for Vanderbilt’s upcoming campus include Jeff Greene, another billionaire real estate investor, and Cody Crowell from Frisbie Group—an alumnus who committed $5 million.
Last year, Vanderbilt began its fundraising campaign for the new campus with an initial target of $300 million. While the total amount raised so far was not disclosed in the latest announcement, the university revealed plans to launch a second phase aimed at securing an additional $250 million.
Local government officials have shown strong support for the project. In 2024, both Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach City voted to grant Vanderbilt seven acres of public land for construction. As part of their agreement with county commissioners, Vanderbilt is required to invest $300 million in capital expenditures and generate 4,500 construction jobs through the project. Within five years of opening, the university must employ 200 full-time staff members, enroll 1,000 students, and maintain an annual operating budget of $70 million.
This expansion follows Vanderbilt’s recent establishment of another satellite graduate campus in New York City at a former Episcopal seminary located at 440 West 21st Street.
