Tennessee State University students will soon have greater access to housing through a unique, if not necessarily unheard-of, deal. On May 8, the Nashville Industrial Development Board approved up to $180 million in bonds for a development called Cobblestone Village Residence to be built near the campus on land owned by The House of God church, which has also provided overflow housing for TSU students. The project will help alleviate the university’s struggles in providing sufficient housing for students, which reflects a national trend.
Cobblestone Village Residence will include two six-story buildings that will hold a variety of floor plans across 155 units with three to five beds each. The construction is projected to begin in June and finish by the fall semester of 2026. Additional construction phases will likely follow. While students at the historically Black land-grant university will be able to enter into private housing agreements for the housing complex, it is not a university dormitory. A TSU representative tells the Scene that, while TSU will educate students on the housing option, it has no ownership of, nor liability regarding, the complex. Students from fellow North Nashville HBCUs Fisk University and Meharry Medical College might also be able to lease rooms if space is available, but TSU students have the right of first refusal.
The Nashville Industrial Development Board agreed to issue up to $180 million in bonds for the project
The Industrial Development Board is the bond issuer, but the city (or TSU) won’t be on the hook for any debt or potential recourse associated with the project. The debt is being taken on by the National Development and Infrastructure Corp. — a Virginia-based 501c3 nonprofit that started in 2023. The organization’s president, Tyrone Logan, tells the Scene that “our charitable mission is to lessen the burden of government and predominantly build affordable housing, student housing and really any infrastructure projects and do off-book financing from a tax-exempt standpoint.”
Texas-based Cobblestone Development and Consulting will lead the construction of the development. The Lamar Johnson Collaborative is taking on planning and design, Mesirow Financial will be the underwriter, AECOM Hunt will oversee program management and construction, and the property will be managed by Cardinal Group.
The bonds were approved by the IDB in a 4-2 vote with one abstention. IDB vice chair Tequila Johnson was one of the no votes, expressing a need for “more info.” The other opposing vote came from LaTanya Channel, who expressed concern that TSU representatives or board members weren’t at the meeting that day. (Representatives from TSU’s former board configuration showed support at a related meeting in February, but a new board has since been appointed.) Questions also arose during the May 8 meeting regarding opening up the complex to other college students in the area, rent rates and the future of the development. Logan says he understands that trust from the community is “something that we have to earn.”
While 40-year bonds provide tax exemptions for the project, there are guidelines that the developers must follow — like maintaining its agreement with TSU and keeping rent affordable. Otherwise they could lose those tax exemptions, see increased interest rates and face potential litigation.
State Rep. Harold Love (D-Nashville), whose district contains TSU, has been a vocal advocate on behalf of the university. He has voiced support for the Cobblestone developer for taking on the project and also commends The House of God, calling the congregation “wonderful partners in that area of North Nashville for so many decades.”
“I think this just provides a wonderful opportunity to address a need,” says Love. “This provides an opportunity to reduce those waiting lists and reduce the issues and anxiety of persons who are trying to get their housing.”
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The Nashville Banner’s Jaylan Sims recently reported that, amid many issues with the current dorms and the stress of waiting for housing placements, students have expressed excitement about the forthcoming development. Not only will it provide more housing close to campus — it will also provide more flexibility as the university addresses issues in aging campus dorms, some of which need significant repairs and could even require demolition. Establishing new dorms for a state university, however, is a lengthy process.
The project comes amid a changing of the guard at TSU. With longtime president Glenda Glover set to step down at the end of this school year, the university needs a new leader. What’s more, a newly appointed board has just begun meeting. The new board was appointed by Gov. Bill Lee after the state’s Republican supermajority voted to vacate the previous board in March — a decision that drew fierce opposition from TSU advocates. In recent years, it has become clear that the state has underfunded TSU by billions of dollars, which some advocates point to as the root cause for some of the school’s housing issues.
“I don’t have any concerns about the new board’s support for the project,” says Love. “I think with all the issues around available housing for the university, we can get something that’s close to the campus that works in the short term. Because of course the preferred situation would be new housing on the campus.”
