Memphis University School announced Tuesday, May 20, that it is launching its $200 million campus improvement project next month with a 107,310-square-foot arts and sciences building.

The project will include three phases at the 95-acre campus at 6191 Park Ave.

The first phase includes a new science building consisting of 14 labs that cater to hands-on learning for students interested in engineering, the medical profession and computer learning. 

A breezeway will connect the science building to the new arts building that includes a teaching studio, performing arts center and the Hyde Chapel auditorium, which will seat 820 people.

Lakeland School System finally adds 12th grade

“We have a need for buildings that match the teaching that’s going on in the current buildings,” said MUS Headmaster Pete Sanders. “We have excellent teachers here, but we feel, especially in the sciences and the arts, that we needed to provide them better space, a better platform to carry out their craft, their profession.”

Sanders said more students in recent years have taken an interest in medicine, engineering, art and orchestra and the school wants to support those endeavors. 

The first phase of the project — plans for which were filed with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development in September — will begin with the demolition of the library in June.

Officials expect the first phase to be completed in about 18 months. The timeline for the second and third phases has not been set.

The Crump Firm designed the project and Grinder Taber & Grinder is the general contractor. 

MUS, a private school for boys, has raised about $110 million since 2022 for the project and Sanders expects the school to reach its $200 million mark.

Madonna Learning Center wants to get into the groove with new expansion

“We’re not finished fundraising,” Sanders said. “We’re actually going to continue fundraising to make Phases 2 and 3 happen.”

Sanders said MUS’s Bold Vision Bright Future fundraising campaign encompassed capital and endowment components, with the endowment currently at $60 million and an additional secured pledge of $50 million. 

“Many educational institution capital campaigns include an endowment component on the tail end once the money is raised for buildings,” said MUS Board Chair Will Thompson. “We, on the other hand, intentionally began our campaign with the endowment because of its paramount importance. With an additional $50 million, MUS is now in an even stronger position to serve Memphis families.”

Phase 2 will include a new library, media center, counseling center and a two-story lower school for the campus’s new middle school.

MUS, traditionally for boys grades 7-12, added the sixth grade for the 2024-2025 school year and the new building will accommodate that growth. 

Sanders said the 2025-2026 school year will have more than 600 students and about 80 full-time teachers. 

Phase 3 will include an enclosed field house with a turf field, a wrestling venue, a fitness center and offices for coaches. He also said the third phase will have improvements to the baseball facility with updated batting cages and locker rooms.

Sanders said the progress of the campus renovations “is still sinking in.”

“During our strategic planning process, it was evident that our oldest buildings did not mirror the current caliber and depth of our academics,” Sanders said.

“As we shape the future for our boys and pave the way for the organizations, cities, and regions they will shape, we are confident that the vision for this campus plan will provide full support for our faculty and students and deliver on our mission through this century.

“We feel strongly that this is not just good for MUS but for Memphis, too,” Sanders said. “So we’re excited for what it can mean.”