MTSU Hotel Rezoning at Middle Tennessee Blvd. and Greenland Drive

A request to rezone 3.82 acres at Middle Tennessee Boulevard and Greenland Drive to highway commercial, so a hotel tied to MTSU can be built across from campus, goes to the Murfreesboro Planning Commission on Oct. 21, 2026. City staff recommends a Nov. 4 public hearing.

A rezoning request for a hotel across from MTSU is on the Murfreesboro Planning Commission's Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026 agenda. Applicant Sila Developments wants to rezone about 3.82 acres at Middle Tennessee Boulevard and Greenland Drive from CL (Local Commercial) and RM-16 (Multi-Family Residential) to CH (Highway Commercial).

The city's staff report says the rezoning "is intended to allow the development of a Graduate Hotel to support MTSU visitors and students, as well as the MTSU hospitality program." Staff also writes that the hotel "would be developed in conjunction with MTSU and will be a part of their programming."

On Oct. 21 the commission is not voting on the rezoning itself. It is being asked to schedule a public hearing, and staff recommends Nov. 4, 2026.

Where is the proposed MTSU hotel site?

The application, file 2026-418, covers four parcels south of Greenland Drive, east of Crestland Avenue and west of Middle Tennessee Boulevard, directly across the boulevard from the Middle Tennessee State University campus. The city identifies them as Tax Map 90H, Group F, Parcels 4.00, 6.00, 7.00 and 19.00.

According to the staff report, the four parcels are now:

• One MTSU parking lot. Parcel 4.00, the northernmost parcel, is developed as a parking lot for the university and is zoned CL (2.35 acres in the request are CL).
• One vacant lot.
• Two lots with single-family homes.

The three parcels other than the parking lot are zoned RM-16, which makes up 1.47 acres of the request. If the rezoning is approved, staff says the applicants will resubdivide the four parcels into one larger lot.

The lots date to 1924, when they were platted as part of the Harrison and Black Subdivision, Middle Tennessee State Normal Property, and they have been divided and combined over the years since.

What is around the site?

The staff report describes the neighbors on each side:

• North, across Greenland Drive: CL zoning with a dentist office, a restaurant and a self-service laundry.
• East, across Middle Tennessee Boulevard: the MTSU campus, zoned CU (College and University).
• South and west: RM-16 zoning with university parking lots, single-family homes and some multi-family housing, with single-family homes making up the majority.

Because CH zoning would sit next to residential property, the city's zoning ordinance calls for a type "C" buffer: a 12-foot strip along the property line with two offset rows of broad evergreen trees and a third row of evergreen shrubs.

What does the city's plan say about this land?

The Murfreesboro 2035 Comprehensive Plan's future land use map shows the property as Public/Private Institutional. Staff explains that when the plan was amended, areas around campus that appeared on MTSU's campus master plan for future expansion were given that designation. The plan suggests districts such as CU, but also allows other districts to be "evaluated on a case-by-case basis."

Staff concludes the request is consistent with the plan because the commercial zoning matches what is already along Greenland Drive and because the hotel would be developed with MTSU as part of its programming. The report notes that the Planning Commission must decide for itself whether the request fits the plan, and if not, whether this is an appropriate case to deviate from it.

What has MTSU said about a hotel at Greenland Drive?

On Aug. 22, 2024, President Sidney A. McPhee told the university's Fall Faculty and Staff Meeting that MTSU was in the final stages of negotiating for a hotel at Greenland Drive and Middle Tennessee Boulevard. McPhee described it as a proposed public-private partnership and said it would be "a learning laboratory and a place for practical experience" for students in the Tourism and Hospitality Management program.

At that time, the university said cost, size and other details were still being finalized, and it hoped to begin construction in 2025 and open the hotel in 2026. The rezoning request on the Oct. 21 agenda is the next public step at the city level. Neither the city's staff report nor the university's announcement gives a room count or construction cost.

How to follow the rezoning

The Planning Commission meets at 1 p.m. on Oct. 21 in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 111 W. Vine St. The applicant is expected to be available at the meeting to discuss the request. If the commission sets the hearing for Nov. 4 as staff recommends, that is when the public can speak on the rezoning.

For more on the university and its neighborhood, see OnlyInMurfreesboro's MTSU guide, Murfreesboro hotels guide and budget hotels in Murfreesboro. The city is also studying the campus edge in other ways; the Oct. 1 council agenda included an MTSU overlay district vision study.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is MTSU getting a hotel?

A rezoning request filed by Sila Developments would allow a hotel at Middle Tennessee Boulevard and Greenland Drive. The city's staff report says it would support MTSU visitors and students and the MTSU hospitality program and would be developed in conjunction with MTSU. The rezoning has not been approved.

Where would the MTSU hotel be built?

On about 3.82 acres south of Greenland Drive, east of Crestland Avenue and west of Middle Tennessee Boulevard, across the boulevard from campus. The site now holds an MTSU parking lot, a vacant lot and two single-family homes.

What zoning is being requested?

CH, or Highway Commercial, replacing the current CL (Local Commercial) on 2.35 acres and RM-16 (Multi-Family Residential) on 1.47 acres.

When is the public hearing on the MTSU hotel rezoning?

City staff recommends that the Planning Commission hold the public hearing on Nov. 4, 2026. The commission is scheduled to set the date at its Oct. 21 meeting.

When will the MTSU hotel open?

No current opening date has been published. MTSU said in August 2024 that it hoped to open a hotel in 2026, but the site still needs rezoning as of October 2026.

Sources: City of Murfreesboro: Planning Commission agenda and staff comments, Oct. 21, 2026, MTSU News: McPhee: MTSU plans to build hotel on campus to train hospitality students.

*Illustration: AI-generated image; not an actual Murfreesboro location.*