Purdue trustees approve Academic Success Building construction on Purdue University in Indianapolis campus

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University trustees on Friday (June 7) gave approval to plan, finance, construct and award construction contracts for an approximately 248,000-square-foot Academic Success Building on the Purdue University in Indianapolis campus.

The Academic Success Building will be located near the intersection of West Street and Michigan Street. The mixed-use facility will provide several new classrooms and laboratories for academic programming, nearly 500 beds for residential use and a dining area to accommodate almost 400 people. This project will mark construction of Purdue University in Indianapolis’ first new building and will be accessible to students, the Indianapolis community, and local and global partners.

The facility will be equipped to evolve with the needs of experiential education and to accommodate courses that would not otherwise be offered with existing space. Project-based learning facilities will provide the opportunity for K-12 STEM enrichment through night, weekend and summer residential and nonresidential opportunities for potential future Boilermakers.

“Purdue University in Indianapolis is heavily focused on experiential learning and immersing ourselves into the community,” said David Umulis, senior vice provost Purdue University for Indianapolis. “The Academic Success Building will create a welcoming arrival to the Indianapolis campus and serve as a thrilling way to provide our students, the Indianapolis area and our partners from around the globe with cutting-edge learning environments, study spaces, residential space and eat-in accommodations all under one roof.”

The scope and location of this project align with the upcoming Indianapolis campus master plan. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2025 and be completed in May 2027. The estimated total project cost of $187 million will be financed by non-fee replaced debt — auxiliary housing dining ($105 million), capital cash appropriation ($60 million) and gift funds ($22 million).

As Indiana’s only public top 10 university, most trusted university and most innovative university, Purdue is committed to strengthening the Boilermaker impact in Indianapolis, the state’s industrial and technological center, and will officially launch its new urban extension campus, Purdue University in Indianapolis, on July 1.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives. 

Sources: Jay Wasson, vice president for physical facilities and public safety

David Umulis