The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday signaled support for a 50-year master plan for the school’s downtown Indianapolis campus that proposes more than a dozen buildings across 28 acres at West and Michigan streets.
The plan, approved unanimously, is considered only to be an approximation of what the campus—an extension of Purdue’s presence in West Lafayette—may look like in 2075. But by then, the school hopes to serve upwards of 15,000 students and have as many as 5,320 beds on its property.
Purdue’s master plan envisions about 16 buildings on land generally bounded by portions of Blackford and Blake streets to the west, Indiana Avenue and North Street to the north, West Street to the east and West Michigan Street to the south.
In total, the school expects to have about 4.5 million square feet of total space through an urban-style, densely built campus. The property was given to the university as part of the split of IUPUI, through a 150-year lease from Indiana University Indianapolis.
At least for now, Purdue is expected to continue to use five existing buildings on the IU Indianapolis campus, largely to house programs that predate the split.
In April, the university broke ground on the first new building within its campus footprint, the Academic Success Building. When it opens in 2027, the $187 million structure will offer first-floor retail, student dining, residential space, lab areas and classrooms across 15 floors.
Over the past year, Purdue has acquired several other parcels along Indiana Avenue, West Street and the canal, with hopes of making those portions of downtown’s northwest quadrant part of its campus.
It has also partnered with local firm Arrow Street Development to take many of the apartments proposed in the company’s $100 million, 12-story mixed-use building in the 500 block of Indiana Avenue.
Purdue identified six pillars in its effort to create the Indianapolis master plan: promoting vibrancy in an urban setting; strengthening the university’s identity; fostering collaboration; maximizing use and flexibility of spaces; enhancing connectivity; and nurturing sustainability.
Dan Hasler, who has led Purdue’s efforts to grow in Indianapolis since the IUPUI split, said because of the conceptual nature of the plan—and the extended runway for its execution—there’s no telling what the cost may be.
But he said he expects numerous funding sources could come into play as the school looks to invest in its growth. In addition to a hope for state dollars—the Academic Success Building received funding from the Legislature—the school could rely on fundraising, as well as public-private partnerships with companies that might want to have their own headquarters or ancillary offices on the campus.
”The markets change, the financial situation changes, [so] we’re going to make game time decisions on the most effective way to finance these buildings when we need to bring them online,” said Hasler.
Building an urban campus with limited space
The near-term plan for the university calls for seven new buildings totaling 2.2 million square feet, although a more specific timeframe for what period that encompasses was not immediately clear. That plan would have more than 3,200 beds and could support as many as 6,500 students. A gateway, similar to what’s found on the West Lafayette portion of the campus is expected to be built in the next few years.
The former state secretary of commerce and Eli Lilly and Co. executive said the school is relying on designs focused on density to make the most of the limited footprint. Several of the buildings in mockups and renderings presented to the board of trustees are portrayed as exceeding 10 stories, with some reaching 15 or more. Many of the buildings would have retail or dining amenities, as well as work spaces for students.
“If we’re going to be an urban campus, it means we’re going to be dense, right?” said Hasler. “It doesn’t mean we put a traditional suburban-style, low-rise campus in a city. This land is more valuable and it calls for more density, and the way you get more density is by going vertical. These aren’t going to be as nearly as tall as the city’s tallest buildings, but they will be taller [than some] and they will be noticeable.”
Likewise, the school’s approach is meant to incorporate portions of Indiana Avenue, which at one time was a business hub for Black residents in Indianapolis. The area and surrounding neighborhoods experienced extensive divestment and destruction during the middle of the 20th century, including through the creation of IUPUI.
“We’re doing that very thoughtfully, so that we are honoring the history and the culture of Indiana Avenue,” Hasler said. “We think that’s an amazing amenity, not just for the neighbors, but for students and the campus. So, we really want to play our part … in activating Indiana Avenue in a way that honors its history, honors the culture and is an exciting place for students to want to go.”
Jay Wasson, the university’s vice president for physical facilities and chief public safety officer, said the concept stemmed from “numerous meetings and feedback sessions” over several months with Purdue students, faculty and staff and a variety of community representatives, including neighborhood residents and city officials.
The university also plans to continue its strategy of co-locating educational spaces within corporate environments—what it calls “marbling”—even as its 28-acre Indianapolis campus continues to fill in, Hasler said. The university estimates 80% of the students served would be served on the Indianapolis campus, with the rest at “marbling” locations across the state.
Already, Purdue has secured strategic partnerships that allow for 10 ancillary spaces across Indianapolis and Speedway, among the 55 total agreements it has put in place for research, co-op and internship opportunities in biosciences, pharmaceuticals, engineering and technology innovation.
That includes the colocation of programs at the campuses of Elanco Animal Health Inc., at the OneHealth Innovation District along the White River; Dallara’s North American headquarters in Speedway; and SpectronRx, which has operations on the city’s northwest side.