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San Francisco in Active Talks With Vanderbilt for Downtown Branch Campus

Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office has held multiple meetings with Vanderbilt leaders, withholding details on campus programming and potential sites.

Students walk through the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville, Tenn., in 2015. The school has been talking with San Francisco’s mayor’s office about expanding into the city’s downtown.
San Francisco mayors have, for years, wanted to entice a prestigious university to build a downtown campus. Now, the city is in discussions with a private research school to make that dream real.
Vanderbilt University stadium, where the school’s sports teams, the Commodores, play in Nashville.
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Overview

  • Vanderbilt University confirmed it is exploring a downtown San Francisco campus in collaboration with city officials.
  • Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office and Housing and Economic Development chief Ned Segal have convened several high-level discussions with Vanderbilt leadership.
  • Neither the city nor the university has revealed specifics on academic programs, student housing or site locations.
  • The initiative builds on former Mayor London Breed’s 30 by 30 plan and earlier proposals to bring University of California branches downtown.
  • Downtown’s roughly 35 percent commercial vacancy rate offers Vanderbilt a wide array of redevelopment options for a new campus.