Knoxville, TN
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville P3
Type:
On-Campus P3 Student Housing
Units:
847
Description:
Following a nationally competitive procurement process, RISE was selected in April 2023 as UTK’s partner for the first Higher Education Housing P3 (Public Private Partnership) in Tennessee history. The initial scope of the partnership includes over 2,900 new student housing beds in a transformative, two-phase delivery. The University and RISE Team worked through a concurrent fast-track process for design, permitting/approvals, construction pricing, and financing before achieving Board of Trustees approval in October 2023, the State Building Commission (SBC) approval in December 2023, and financial close in January 2024. Through highly volatile interest rate and construction pricing environments of 2023, the team meticulously programmed, designed, and developed the dynamic P3 project to achieve the University and State System’s mandate in that the financing could not require any State or University financial support and had to be 100% self-supporting.
The first delivery includes 1,954 student beds delivered for the Fall 2025 semester with an additional 1,028 student beds delivered for the Fall 2026 semester. The new communities will stand 7-8 stories in height, be constructed of metal and concrete frames, and feature architectural facades and roofs that blend with and complement the adjacent UTK facilities as well as the entire campus. Building programming includes a centralized entry into each community with adjacent reception desk, staff offices, community kitchen, and lobby lounge, while multiple resident lounges, study rooms, multi-purpose rooms, game rooms, and complimentary laundry centers are located throughout.
The 1,954 bed delivery for Fall 2025 will occur over a record-setting 28 month duration from project award to full completion of nearly 2,000 beds in non-wood frame construction. The RISE Team includes Architectural Partners: Niles Bolton Associates and Cope architecture, Construction Partners: Choate Construction and Blaine Construction, Civil Engineer: CEC, Investment Banker: RBC Capital Market, and National 501c3 Owner: Provident Resources Group. Following project delivery, RISE will serve the partnership as facility and custodial manager of the new facilities while UTK University Housing will provide all residential life and room assignment functions in a unified shared-services arrangement that will allow the P3 housing to seamlessly integrate into the existing housing offerings of campus.
Read more about this project:
Features:
- 2,982 on-campus beds
- Three new residential communities
- Contractors: Choate Construction Company & Blaine Construction
- Architect: Niles Bolton Associates & Cope Architecture
