Tennessee State University plans massive development project

• Funding has been secured for a small portion of the Cumberland City at TSU project, said Metro Councilman Ed Kindall.
• TSU drew inspiration from Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Ala., which has the University of Alabama in Huntsville as the anchor tenant.
• TSU President Glenda Glover shared the Cumberland City concept during a recent luncheon gathering.
• TSU's other planned capital improvement projects include two new dormitories and a potential new football stadium to replace Hale Stadium, which is affectionately known as the “Hole”.

Tennessee State University is planning a sweeping, 84-acre development project along the Cumberland River.

Dubbed Cumberland City at TSU, the project is envisioned to include a hotel and conference center, a residential community and business incubation facility, along with innovation and research centers on the northwest side of campus. Plans for the site off Dr. Walter S. Davis Boulevard also call for a library and community resource center, a business partnership complex, restaurants and retail at the state's largest historically black university.

“If it’s developed as proposed, it will be a big plus for the community and the university,” said Metro Councilman Ed Kindall, whose district includes the university’s campus.

Kindall was among local community and business leaders present at a recent lunch gathering, where TSU President Glenda Glover shared the concept. Funding has been secured for a small portion of the project, with additional money expected to be pursued from the state and various private sources, Kindall said.

Glover's strategy of reaching out to community stakeholders in the project's early stages is in line with her declaration upon becoming president that the university belongs to the community, said Kelli Sharpe, TSU's assistant vice president for public relations and communications.

"A project of this nature will only be successful with support from the community and our stakeholders," Sharpe said. "Typical projects of this nature require a diverse funding package and this is something the university will pursue."

The Cumberland City at TSU project will be built in phases, Sharpe said, adding that efforts are underway as part of a preliminary pre-construction phase to secure the necessary permits from the city and state. She said there's no definite targeted completion date, but people who attended last week's meeting said Glover mentioned a three-to-eight-year development time frame.

Asked about how TSU plans to address concerns about proposed site being in the 100-year floodplain, Shape responded: "As with any development, the project developer will implement all necessary requirements and improvements for the Cumberland Project to be a success. This includes addressing all environmental issues and concerns."

TSU is believed to have drawn inspiration from Cummings Research Park in Huntsville, Ala., anchored by the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and other similar projects around the country. The riverfront development is among capital improvement projects under TSU's overall master plan, which also could include two new dormitories and a potential new football stadium to replace Hale Stadium, which is affectionately known as the “Hole.”

TSU has made Metro Nashville's government aware of its plans, and the city has offered to help the university with engaging the community, said Lonnell Matthews Jr., director of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood and Community Engagement.

Rev. Enoch Fuzz, longtime pastor of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church in the TSU area who attended the meeting with Glover, called the proposed project "breathtaking."

"The world is looking at Nashville and this puts Tennessee State in sync with Nashville's vision of being one of the world's great cities," he said.

Fuzz said he would help to lobby state lawmakers to allocate public funds to support TSU's development plans.

"In the black community, the financial resource isn't there," he said. "It's going to take some commitment from our public treasury."

Lamenting that the TSU area hasn't experienced the boom seen near other area colleges, Fuzz said the proposed Cumberland City should generate more traffic and as a result economic activity in that North Nashville community.

"That's a great need over here," he said.

Reach Getahn Ward at 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.