Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
UT Board approves Neyland Entertainment District ground leases and parking financing
Summary
The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees approved ground leases and development agreements for the 865 Neyland Entertainment District at UT Knoxville, including a developer-funded entertainment district and condotel, and authorization to finance a rebuilt G10 parking garage through Tennessee State School bonds.
The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees voted to approve the Neyland Entertainment District project at UT Knoxville, authorizing 99-year ground leases for a developer-built entertainment district and a condotel and approving a development agreement plus debt issuance through the Tennessee State School Bond Authority to rebuild the G10 parking structure.
David Miller, the university's senior vice president and chief financial officer, told trustees the project is structured so that "the developer is fully responsible for financing, construction, and operating the Entertainment District." He said the university "has no financial risk, and we're not operating it" for the retail and hotel components, while the rebuilt parking garage will be a university-owned asset financed and repaid from parking revenue.
Chancellor Plowman emphasized campus benefits beyond athletics, saying the district would support an "unparalleled student experience" year-round and provide conference and hospitality space. Trustees pressed for clarifications about interim parking and management costs; Miller said the university has purchased nearby land for temporary surface parking and that a one-time $700,000 management fee for part of the garage will be paid from parking revenue.
Under the approved terms, the developers will pay the university $1.5 million annually in ground rent and a percentage of gross sales once sales exceed specified thresholds; the university also retains purchase rights and a first right of refusal if developers sell. Miller said construction will not begin until all financing closes so that "all of the money is in the bank" to secure completion.
The resolution covering the entertainment district ground lease, the condotel ground lease, the parking development agreement, and authorization to issue school bond debt was moved and seconded and approved by roll call (John Compton, DeCosta Jenkins, Donnie Smith and Jamie Woodson voting aye).
