Trustees approve six capital disclosures; P3 housing partner named and hotel lease talks near completion

The Middle Tennessee State University Finance and Personnel Committee approved a six-item capital disclosure list that will appear on the university’s disclosure register for two years if accepted. The list includes renovations at Floyd Stadium, a wellness-center renovation that would relocate the counseling center into the wellness facility, and a student commons improvement to add a small stage adjacent to the student union. Bill Waits, associate vice president for campus planning, presented the disclosures and said the full disclosure list (as projected in July 2026) appears in the meeting materials.

Waits said the Floyd Stadium disclosure was filed at $24 million to meet a quick submission timeline but staff now anticipate the needed scope will be lower — “I do anticipate the final amount of that project to be much less than the $24,000,000,” Waits said — and staff are refining the scope for the West Grandstand seating and structural replacements. The wellness-center project would add a modest addition and relocate counseling services from the KUC to a single location within the wellness center to provide more integrated behavioral-health services. The student commons improvement is a smaller renovation to create a roughly doubled event space for campus activities.

Trustees also received updates on two campus-affiliated development projects that are not part of the disclosure vote but were discussed as program updates. Waits said lease negotiations with Sila Development for the planned campus hotel were “within several weeks” of finishing; the agreement will require state approval and is expected to be a long-term (40-year) lease. He said hotel branding and a finalized schedule will be communicated once the lease is signed and the state has approved the agreement.

On student housing, Waits reported that the university completed a competitive selection process and the state building commission on May 8 approved naming the Annex Group as the P3 development partner for a planned 550-bed residence hall built on the existing Wilmington (Womack/Wilmington Lane) housing site. Waits said the planned ground-lease and development agreements remain under negotiation with the state reviewing the predevelopment agreement; staff estimated construction could begin in December 2025 with a targeted opening in July 2027. The current Womack (Wilmington) Lane site contains about 230 beds; Waits said the planned development is expected to produce approximately 550 beds, yielding a net increase of about 320 beds.

Trustees asked how family housing residents would be served during the demolition and construction; university staff said residents would remain in place until closeout (residents are expected to vacate by August with hazardous-material abatement and demolition planned to start Sept. 1) and Housing Services has plans to provide alternative housing options and transition services.

Action: Trustees moved, seconded and approved the FY26 capital disclosure list by voice vote.

The hotel and P3 housing updates included next steps: finalize lease terms with Sila Development, secure state approvals for a long-term lease, complete final legal agreements with Annex Group for the residence-hall P3, and continue outreach on relocation and support for affected students.