Fisk University in Nashville said it will begin a $900 million campus transformation called “Quantum Leap,” a multi-project effort that Clark announced Thursday at the university’s Jubilee Hall. The plan includes a 100,000-square-foot data and technology center and is aimed at remaking Fisk’s North Nashville campus, with details still limited as the 160-year-old school seeks approval through Metro. Clark said Fisk is submitting the proposal to the local government for review.
In describing the scope, Clark said the work would not be limited to technology buildings. Fisk plans to renovate three residence halls and pursue at least five major new projects, including an annex for the John Lewis Center for Social Justice, an arena that would total 120,000 square feet, a 45,000-square-foot student center and an 80,000-square-foot annex for the Carl Van Vechten Gallery. Clark also said the annex connected to the John Lewis Center is likely to come first and could be completed within two years.
Clark said Fisk’s “do no harm” framing comes amid opposition elsewhere to data centers, where residents have raised concerns about air and water quality, strain on power infrastructure and noise. She said the university would not be moving forward if it had identified ways the kind of project planned for Fisk would do harm, and she told reporters that “do no harm” is the project’s theme. At the Jubilee Hall event, Clark also said the facility will adhere to environmental standards and use current technologies in a way that will not affect the quality of life for residents in ZIP code 37208.
Don Hardin, a project and construction management firm partner involved with the initiative, said the team studied impacts of data centers around the country to help ensure the project is done “right.” Hardin said Nashville Electric Service has assured the group it has sufficient capacity to handle the data center’s electricity needs without increasing power bills for neighbors. He said the data center would be “fairly small” at 30 megawatts compared with other centers.
Hardin also described work on how to address practical community concerns, including noise mitigation, water consumption and energy usage. He said the project team would answer questions, work to keep the campus comfortable for students and make the community “feel really good” about the project. Clark, joined by Mayor Freddie O’Connell, state and local lawmakers, Fisk faculty and students and philanthropic and business executives, said the university aims to be a “vibrant partner” to the state and city while maintaining Fisk’s history and building its future.
Financing details also remain limited, with Clark saying each part of the master plan has a different financial model. She said the university expects fundraising as part of the project, and Hardin said the initiative has a list of priority projects that would begin “as opportunities come about.” Hardin said the data center is not expected to generate revenue sufficient to complete the other projects, and Clark did not say whether Fisk has a partner for the data center when asked, saying she was “not in a position to talk about that today.”