Is this some kind of reversal of the blue-->red flight?
Quote:
San Francisco’s bid to attract a major university to its downtown core could be fulfilled as a prestigious private research school is in talks with the mayor’s office about expanding its presence into the heart of the city.
A spokesperson for Vanderbilt University confirmed to the Chronicle that it is considering broadening its school in Nashville, Tenn., to San Francisco and has been working with Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office on the effort.
“Vanderbilt is always exploring new opportunities to expand our impact and further our mission. We recognize the long-term global leadership of San Francisco and its ever-growing potential, defined by a vibrant culture, dynamic innovation ecosystem and the talent drawn to its leading technology companies and top-caliber arts and cultural institutions,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“This powerful combination is why we are optimistically exploring the possibility of establishing a presence downtown, working closely with Mayor Daniel Lurie and his team.”
Last month Vanderbilt announced plans for a new “innovation district” in Nashville complete with research space and offices for university-affiliates and nearby startups, parks, retail and housing, spanning several blocks on land it owns near its main campus. The district’s buildout is expected to take more than a decade to complete.
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https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/d...ign=sfcn%20%7C%20real%20estate%20insider
For Nashvillians (or whatever you are called) unfamiliar with San Francisco, the city has a number of universities within the city--U. of San Francisco, Cal State San Francisco, UC San Francisco, UC Law etc--but none "downtown" (except UC Law on the fringe of downtown). Meanwhile, in the center of downtown sits a large, recently built urban mall that is practically empty these days because San Franciscans no longer go downtown to shop (there's that "internets" thing they helped invent) and many who used to work downtown now work from home. This quite grandiose building has previously been proposed as a retail-->?? conversion. I'm pretty sure I've seen it conceived as an urban campus and it sure would make an interesting one.
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