Purdue, Browning announce second major project for Discovery Park District, unveil 30-year master plan

INDIANAPOLIS, WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A master plan for the $1 billion Discovery Park District unveiled today (Monday) outlines a 30-year commitment to transform the west side of the Purdue University campus into a mixed-use gateway for intellectual discourse and commercial partnerships.

Purdue Research Foundation and Indianapolis-based Browning Investments LLC are partnering on the long-term project to build a preeminent environment for educational, economic, cultural and community activities.

“We are building off the State Street Redevelopment Project and the outstanding research that is conducted in Discovery Park. We recognize that the Discovery Park District is the next step in the evolution of Purdue University as the place to go for intellectual challenge and innovation advancement,” said Dan Hasler, Purdue Research Foundation chief entrepreneurial officer. “The district will provide the necessary amenities to bring current and future leaders of academics and business together. It is a long-term commitment and we are being very careful with each step of the process to make sure it is done right, because the Discovery Park District will be the front door to Purdue University for generations to come.” 

Aspire at Discovery Park is scheduled to be complete in August 2019. ‘Convergence’ will break ground later this year, pending board approval. The 145,000-square-foot, five-story mixed-use building will connect Purdue University research, industry, investors, and innovative ideas with commercial impact through collaborative research, licensing and startup creation to private enterprise.

“A fundamental element in Purdue’s mission is to support our faculty in their quest to discover, develop and deliver innovations to the public. We do this in many ways from state-of-the-art research facilities to securing private and public funding,” said Suresh Garimella, Purdue’s executive vice president for research and partnerships. “The Convergence facility will be an additional important venue for our collaborative partnerships for the commercialization of the life-changing research taking place in Discovery Park and across the Purdue campus.”

Among other goals, the Convergence will serve as home to the Purdue Foundry, where Purdue’s growing startup community will be supported. The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue’s Office of Corporate and Global Partnerships and WomenIN will be housed in the facility. Most importantly, the Convergence will be the first physical home of many of Purdue’s corporate sponsors.

“The Aspire and Convergence projects represent the first of many exciting ventures planned for the next 10-20 years as part of our master plan,” said Adam Chavers, senior vice president of Browning. “The careful planning of Discovery Park District sets the stage to maximize the relationship between the university and the community. It also will enhance Purdue’s reputation as an international leader in creating a community with both intellectual and innovative vibrancy.”

Highlights of the Discovery Park District master plan include:

* District Core as the center and social hub of the innovation ecosystem, offering the widest mix of uses including co-working, office, lab and maker spaces.

* Main Street to serve as a corridor that links multiple areas of the district and connects to both State Street and Airport Road, providing a pedestrian bike- and transit-friendly destination with a carefully curated retail experience.

* An enhanced Squirrel Park that includes a mix of landscaped park spaces recreational areas and pedestrian pathways.

* Residential Village for a walkable community for single-family housing needs of a wide variety of homeowners that is close to campus.

* Aerospace District as one of the largest university-affiliated aerospace business hubs for companies to collaborate on research and commerce.

“The city of West Lafayette and the Greater Lafayette area have always enjoyed the benefits of having Purdue University as their neighbor and partner. And with the reveal of the full master plan for Discovery Park District continues this success story. This is a game-changer for its added value to all residents in and around the entire area,” said West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis. “The excitement is building for this major long-term development, and I look forward to the many positive results that this amazing partnership will bring to our community.”

In addition to the State Street Development Project, the Discovery Park District project is in large part due to the history of collaboration among Purdue, Browning, and West Lafayette, and will complement other initiatives already taking place on the west side of campus including the State Street Redevelopment Project, US 231 west side expansion, Horticulture Park, Todd's Creek relocation, new recreational fields, Purdue Early Child Care Center and the Rolls-Royce facility at the Purdue Research Park Aerospace District.

For additional information visit Discovery Park District.

About Purdue University

Purdue University was founded in 1869 under the land-grant act. Enrollment is about 42,000 graduate and undergraduate students at its West Lafayette, Indiana campus and more than 450,000 alumni around the globe. The Wall Street Journal ranked Purdue 5th Best Public School in the U.S. The list of Purdue’s distinguished alumni includes many pioneers in their fields, including Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, as well as notable faculty members such as Ei-ichi Negishi, the 2010 recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, and two recipients of the World Food Prize, Philip Nelson and Gebisa Ejeta. With more than 400 research laboratories and 116 University-approved research centers and institutes, Purdue continues to fulfill its mission to expand the frontiers of knowledge and its applications, to help build a better world.

About Purdue Research Foundation

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue's intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park and Purdue Technology Centers. The foundation received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year by the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org

About Browning

Founded in 1977, Browning remains one of the premier development companies in Indianapolis and is engaged in the acquisition, development, construction, leasing, management, ownership and disposition of investment real estate properties, primarily in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. In total, Browning has developed and constructed more than 22 million square feet of space. To learn more, visit: www.browninginvestments.com.  

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, 765-413-6031, casequin@prf.org

Sources:

Dan Hasler, 765-588-3825, djhasler@prf.org

Garimella, Suresh, sureshg@purdue.edu

Adam Chavers, achavers@browninginv.com

John Dennis, jdennis@westlafayette.in.gov