(Bloomberg) -- Vanderbilt University said it plans to expand into New York City, marking the second major out-of-state foray for the Nashville-based school.
The university said Thursday that it is entering into a lease with the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Vanderbilt said it is seeking regulatory approval from various state agencies for the plan, though it declined to provide specific information about what types of for-credit programs it would offer on the New York campus.
The Chelsea campus will include 13 buildings with a total of about 150,000 square feet on the picturesque seminary block, which spans West 20th and West 21st streets. Under the plan, the seminary, which has struggled financially, would continue to operate as a separate entity and maintain its own programs after Vanderbilt moves in.
“As home to leading institutions in finance, media, technology and the arts, and as a jumping-off point to the rest of the world, New York offers unbounded opportunities,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in a statement.
In July, Vanderbilt proposed a $520 million expansion into West Palm Beach, Florida, a wealthy enclave that’s being transformed by new outposts of financial firms. Vanderbilt said this week it had reached agreement with the city for the land for the campus. It also needs approval from Palm Beach County, and talks are proceeding, the school said.
Vanderbilt isn’t the only large university seeking to expand in Manhattan. Northeastern University is pursuing a merger with Marymount Manhattan, a tiny college on the Upper East Side that’s been struggling with enrollment. Northeastern, once known as Boston commuter school, has aggressively sought expansion and taken over small struggling colleges to expand its footprint.
Vanderbilt established a regional hub in New York in 2023 as a collaboration among several departments including alumni relations and development.
The latest deal, which isn’t a merger, comes as the seminary is facing financial challenges. Its operating expenses were more than $2 million higher than annual income in 2023, President Ian S. Markham, wrote in a March announcement. Funding for any emergency capital expenditures or deferred maintenance, which was estimated at tens of millions of dollars, was also lacking, he said.
Vanderbilt, one of the richest US private colleges, with an endowment of $9.7 billion, has deep ties to New York City. Its founder, Cornelius Vanderbilt, made his fortune in the city as a shipping and railroad tycoon during the Gilded Age.
New York today is the home of the largest Vanderbilt alumni population outside of Tennessee, with 7,800 former students in the city, according to the school.
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