Purdue board approves $187 million building, first on Indianapolis campus

Claire Rafford

The Purdue University Board of Trustees approved plans June 7 for the first new building on the Indianapolis campus, which will include classroom and living space.

The $187 million, 248,000-square-foot facility, called the Academic Success Building, will include classrooms, laboratories and a dining hall, as well as residence halls that will accommodate nearly 500 students.

“This will be the center of Purdue in Indianapolis,” Vice President of Physical Infrastructure and Public Safety Jay Wasson told Mirror Indy.

The building will be located on the current parking lot at the northwest corner of the intersection of Michigan and West streets. It’s part of a 28-acre site that Purdue plans to develop into its Indianapolis campus – located north of Michigan Street, south of Indiana Avenue and west of West Street.

The building will be funded in part by $60 million in funding from the Indiana General Assembly. Construction will begin in February 2025 and is scheduled for completion in May 2027.

Purdue is essentially building the campus from scratch, as IU retains ownership of the IUPUI buildings through the split.

As a short-term solution for students, Purdue has leased two-thirds of North Hall, an IUPUI residence hall, and has the option to ultimately purchase it. The university also rents 400 beds at Lux on Capitol, an apartment complex located right next to campus at Michigan Street and Capitol Avenue.

Purdue also leases five IUPUI engineering and technology buildings from IU for use for classes and laboratory research.

Construction of the new Purdue campus coincides with the reconstruction of Indiana Avenue in the city of Indianapolis. During the 1960s and 1970s, IUPUI displaced many black residents of the city’s immediate west side to build its campus, leading to the decline of Indiana Avenue as a center of black culture.

Wasson said Purdue is working with the city to support this redevelopment plan. He also said Purdue specifically planned for its first building not to be on Indiana Avenue.

“We want this process to come to fruition so that we can better understand how our campus development can complement what the city and other stakeholders want to do in the corridor,” he said.

Purdue will house its executive education program at High Alpha in the Bottleworks District on Mass Ave., and recently announced plans to establish facilities at the new Elanco Animal Health headquarters and the 16 Tech Innovation District.

Claire Rafford covers higher education at Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire at [email protected] or on social media @clairerafford.