Five years after its completion, West End Tower, also known as Zeppos Tower, is just now emerging with a clear purpose. Even so, Vanderbilt’s most recognizable landmark remains a mystery to much of the campus community, defined by its mishmash of uses, unusual design features and student inaccessibility. 

“Everyone knows the tower, but they don’t know what’s inside,” Justin Walters, General Manager of West End Tower, said. 

The 20-floor, 305-foot Gothic tower was designed by David M. Schwarz Architects of Washington, D.C., and Hastings Architecture of Nashville, and hosts student residences on floors two through five of Zeppos College. 

Originally planned as office space for the chancellor, the tower changed direction during construction. “Halfway through construction, its identity got completely lost,” Walters said. Only after Vanderbilt created Vanderbilt Enterprises last June did a more defined business plan take shape for the rest of the building. With Walters and Vanderbilt Enterprises CEO Markus Schreyer sharing backgrounds in the hotel industry, it should come as no surprise that Feb. 1, the tower’s 17 furnished suites opened to the public, meaning “anyone, for any reason” can now stay in Vanderbilt’s West End Tower. 

That had not been the case previously. At first, the tower was open for the exclusive use of the chancellor; eventually, guest speakers, adjunct professors and parents gained access. While figures such as Hillary Clinton, Mark Cuban and Gwyneth Paltrow have visited the tower, business was once so slow that some unused suites accumulated stale water, attracting bugs. 

“I had not seen bugs with that many legs in my life,” Walters said. 

After four years as an organizational hot potato between various university divisions, the tower can finally be operated in a way that contributes to the financial health of the university. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier recruited Walters in 2021 to settle on a core mission for the building; they concluded that it should be anchored by a hotel that focuses on bringing people to Vanderbilt. To that end, Walters recently blasted out marketing to 10,000 families, resulting in 72 reservation requests in 48 hours. An aviation company has previously booked the entire tower — 17 rooms and three event spaces — for $22,000 a day for four days, a significant booking for a building that costs $63,000 per month just to keep the doors open, before salaries and benefits. 

Now operating under Vanderbilt Enterprises, Walters said university support for the tower has changed dramatically in recent months, giving the building more backing as it moves into a clearer hotel and event-space identity. 

Vanderbilt is preparing to gut the suites at a cost of $45,000 to $60,000 each and renovate them with school or course themes, such as an astronomy suite with a telescope and an athletic suite with a Peloton. Walters said the upgrades could allow him to raise room prices by 25% to 30%. Currently, suites start at $239 for a studio and go up to $499 for the two-bedroom Chancellor’s Suite for internal reservations. The 14th floor, now the home of a complimentary laundry service, might be repurposed as a fitness center for guests. Perhaps a year or so out, Walters would like to open the lobby to all students and partner with a quick-service coffee bar. 

Walters said the university wants the tower to turn a profit so it can eventually fund West End Tower scholarship programs for students. 

Oddly enough, students live on floors two through five of Zeppos College but do not have access to the tower’s upper floors. Part of the reason for the limited access is the tower’s vantage point across the entire campus, which Walters said creates security concerns. The building itself is Secret Service-certified, meaning it has been vetted, inspected and approved to host individuals protected by the U.S. Secret Service. 

“I went to the roof once when they were doing window washing, and you have to crawl out of a three-foot-by-three-foot hole and be harnessed. It’s very scary,” Walters said. 

The 20th floor is also restricted to visitors. Used mainly as a mechanical room, it houses the HVAC unit, water heater, elevator machinery and water pump. Water is pumped to the 20th floor and falls with gravity as needed into the guest rooms. The 19th floor offers great meeting space with an exceptional view, but the $1,250 booking fee effectively prices it beyond the reach of most student organizations. 

Some of the building’s most unusual features are on the ground floor, leading Walters to compare it to the Winchester Mystery House, a sprawling San Jose, California mansion famous for its bizarre architecture featuring staircases that lead nowhere and doors that open into walls. In West End Tower, the elevator door on the far-right side of the elevator bank is fake, added only for symmetry. On the building’s west side, the windows facing the bookstore don’t actually provide a view; a cement wall sits just behind them due to the elevator shaft. 

Walters is finding new ways to engage students, with plans to buy student art to adorn guest suites and to commission Blair School of Music students to perform for events. 

“My biggest thing over the last two years has been building identity, building brand and building operations,” Walters said. 

For students eager to tour the highest accessible parts of the tower without grappling hooks, scheduled tours through Walters are available, though the tower currently conducts only a few student tours each month. The Admissions Office will also begin taking prospective students and their families through the building next fall, further widening the tower’s exposure. 

For now, West End Tower is becoming less of a mystery, even if, for most students, it remains easier to see than to enter. 

This story was originally published on The Vanderbilt Hustler on May 14, 2026.