During the Sept. 1 Nashville Metro Council meeting, Vanderbilt’s proposal for a Specific Plan to develop about 40 acres adjacent to the west side of campus to be an innovation neighborhood passed overwhelmingly on third reading.
“Tuesday’s approval of Vanderbilt’s proposed innovation neighborhood caps a more than two-year collaborative process with city leaders, neighbors and the entrepreneur community in developing the plan. The approved plan will be transformative for the city, Vanderbilt and the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Eben Cathey, senior director, local government relations.
“With the Metro approval process behind us, we will turn our attention to bringing our innovation neighborhood to life,” Cathey said. “We share the thoughts of many in our city when we say we could not be more excited to see it become a reality.”
Over the past two years, Vanderbilt worked closely with community and civic leaders, including residents of the Hillsboro West End neighborhood, in an intentional, strategic approach to plan an innovation neighborhood that complements the surrounding area and adds housing, green space and meaningful amenities.
The Specific Plan approved by Council codifies several community benefits, including:
- Moving the tallest buildings toward West End and away from residential addresses
- Implementing building height limits and restricting what can be built in specific zones across the entire site
- Increasing greenspace throughout the area by approximately 300 percent along with miles of new sidewalks and bike lanes
- Increasing the tree canopy of the site by about 175 percent
- Planning for adjustments as the neighborhood develops with a Vanderbilt-funded traffic analysis every five years, in addition to a Vanderbilt commitment for a $750,000 Neighborhood Traffic Calming Fund
- Creating an Innovation Neighborhood Impact Committee to make sure neighbors stay part of the conversation throughout construction
The Innovation Neighborhood will be part of a large-scale effort by Vanderbilt to invest deeply in innovation and growth that will elevate research and development work, provide faculty and students with a competitive edge, and expand Vanderbilt’s efforts to support entrepreneurship across the city, state and region.
This broader approach reflects Vanderbilt’s view of what a great university should be in the 21st century by taking the university beyond being a center of discovery and learning and into the community as an anchor for innovation—bringing together researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capital, industry, government and civic leaders in ways that no single institution or sector can accomplish alone.
The Innovation Neighborhood will advance early ideas from the Nashville Innovation Alliance’s work to bring together colleges and universities across the region as well as organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, the Entrepreneur Center, LaunchTN, the Greater Nashville Tech Council and more.
