Hawkins Partners has been working with Vanderbilt University to redevelop the 13 acre West End Neighborhood, bringing the university’s ambitious “FutureVU” Master Plan to life. Work finished in mid-2020 that completely transformed the Greek Row neighborhood from car-dominated streets to a more sustainable, pedestrian-focused part of campus. The dramatic change from a disorganized, car-dominated through-street to a set of planted, human-scaled walkways is hard to imagine; it is utterly transformational Part of the outcome is that for the first time, this neighborhood feels integrated into the rest of the Vanderbilt campus as it now connects the for students and the larger community.

The planning and design process elevates this neighborhood to the level of the historic campus, while using contemporary design elements. It removes over 2.5 acres of impervious pavement and over 600 parking spaces. It expands the arboretum and provides a range of diverse sitting and gathering areas meant to be which enrich the broader campus.