Purdue celebrates groundbreaking for new residence hall

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University officials will stage a groundbreaking celebration Friday (April 12) for the new residence hall immediately south of Hillenbrand Residence Hall on the West Lafayette campus.

The ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the corner of the project site at MacArthur Drive and First Street, and will include comments from President Mung Chiang; Jay Wasson, vice president for physical facilities and chief public safety officer; Beth McCuskey, vice provost for student life; and Mark Daniel Ward, executive director of The Data Mine and a statistics professor. It is open to the public.

The new residence hall will be an eight-story, 252,525-square-foot facility that includes 896 pod-style beds. At the same time, the existing dining area in Hillenbrand Residence Hall will be renovated and expanded from approximately 500 to 800 seats to accommodate the additional residents. 

“With the support of the Action Council on Student Housing and Well-Being, this project touches on a number of Purdue’s strategic priorities,” Wasson said. “It will increase student housing in a desirable residential area of campus, and will also expand dining capacity to benefit students living in other nearby housing at Third (Street) and McCormick (Road).” 

McCuskey adds, “Data shows that students who live on campus are more successful than their off-campus peers. We are excited to offer more residential opportunities for our students, along with expanding our academic ties and partnerships within University Residences with new space on the ground floor for The Data Mine.”

The project will help address an existing waitlist and an increased demand for on-campus housing. Additionally, it provides more space for the students in Purdue’s largest living learning community, The Data Mine, to collaborate with each other and their mentors in the corporate partners program.

Students in The Data Mine emphasize the importance of living and working in the learning community environment. The ability for students to learn data science competencies (on-site, in the residence hall where many of the students live) and to apply these skills in corporate and research settings has been instrumental to the success of The Data Mine. 

The Purdue Board of Trustees approved the project in August 2023. Construction got underway in March and is scheduled to be completed in June 2026.