Purdue trustees approve 10 year capital plan, including 2 projects that will go to state lawmakers in upcoming 2025 27 capital request

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue Universitytrustees on Friday (Aug. 2) reviewed and approved the university's 10-year capital plan, an evolving blueprint that will guide the upcoming 2025-27 biennial legislative capital request it submits to the state.

The current draft of the 10-year capital plan stems from a collaborative process launched in January among executives, vice presidents, chancellors and Physical Facilities leadership to identify facility needs related to the university's strategic initiatives and other current planning activities.

"Throughout this biennial update of the 10-year capital plan, Administrative Operations leadership recognizes the need to ensure financial viability and stewardship while prioritizing and contributing to student affordability and sustainability," said Jay Wasson, Purdue vice president for physical facilities and chief public safety officer. "To achieve these goals, Purdue has adopted a balanced capital program approach that considers facility renovations first, facility replacements where appropriate and the addition of new space only when needed."

Projects included in the near-term legislative capital request are:

• Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Research Building (Purdue West Lafayette): As part of the support to the One Health strategic initiative, this $160 million project calls for construction of a 140,000-square-foot facility that will provide a new, shared facility for research institutes such as the Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research, as well as other life science research on campus. Of the project's total cost, $90 million is requested to come from the state. Construction would be scheduled to begin in spring 2026, with completion by fall 2028. Research labs moving into the new facility will also create available space for major research facility renovations for the four departments related to chemistry in the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Pharmacy and Science.

• Student Union and Library Renovation Phase 1/Porter Demolition (Purdue Northwest): This project will include renovation of 29,000 square feet of space within the Hammond Student Union Library Building. Labs, modern general academic classrooms and offices are planned to replace space that will be lost from Porter Hall's planned demolition. The ground floor renovation will include converting the existing campus bookstore into a multimedia center for the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences. Upon the renovation's completion, Founder's Plaza also will be extended to encompass space formerly occupied by Porter Hall. Of the project's $23 million total cost, Purdue is seeking $19 million from the state. Start date would be summer 2026, with completion planned by fall 2028.

The following project is identified as near term but does not include a request for state funding:

• Student Housing (Purdue Fort Wayne): This project is for a 110,000-square-foot student housing facility that would include 375 beds arranged in pod and/or suite-style units. The residence hall primarily will support first- and second-year students at Purdue Fort Wayne, enhancing the living-learning community model on campus. It also will include first-floor kitchen, classroom and study spaces. This project is expected to cost $56 million, and construction would begin in fall 2026 and be completed by fall 2028.

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 Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative - at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Writer: Phillip Fiorini, [email protected]

Media contact: Trevor Peters, [email protected]

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