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Discovery Park District at Purdue is a 400-acre mixed-use innovation district located at the western gateway ofPurdue University's West Lafayette campus in the U.S. state of Indiana. The district is a $1 billion development project that includes research facilities, residential housing, commercial space, and corporate partnerships. ThePurdue Research Foundation leads the development in partnership with Browning Investments LLC as master development partner.
Discovery Park District represents an expansion of the original Discovery Park concept established in 2001. While the original Discovery Park focused on interdisciplinary research facilities, Discovery Park District encompasses residential, commercial, retail, manufacturing, and research components. The district is located adjacent to the Purdue University Airport and near the Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering and Ray W. Herrick Laboratories.
The original Discovery Park was established in 2001 with donations from theLilly Endowment totaling more than $50 million and support from the state of Indiana and private sources.[1] The first interdisciplinary research buildings opened in 2004,[2] with six research and office buildings constructed as part of the original Discovery Park complex. By 2014, the interdisciplinary institutes known as Discovery Park Institutes and Centers reached the $1 billion milestone in external sponsored research, private gifts and endowments.[3]
In 2016, the Purdue Research Foundation selected Browning Investments as master development partner to expand the concept into the larger Discovery Park District encompassing approximately 400 acres. According to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, $889.5 million in public investment and $1.5 billion in private-sector investment flowed into Greater Lafayette from 2015 to 2020, much of it through the Discovery Park District.[citation needed]
The district includes several housing developments: Aspire at Discovery Park District, an 830-bed apartment complex that opened in 2019; Continuum, with 246 apartments and commercial space that began leasing in 2022; Provenance, a mixed-housing community with townhomes and single-family homes; and a Varcity residential development designed for older adults affiliated with the university.
The Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration is a 145,000-square-foot, five-story mixed-use building that houses office space, retail, and co-working spaces. The district has attracted corporations including Rolls-Royce, Saab, Bayer, and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), which operates a 100,000-square-foot facility for electric power research.
The district operates a private mobile network providing connectivity throughout the 400-acre development. The district includes bike paths, green spaces, and pedestrian infrastructure.
The research component of Discovery Park District consists of interdisciplinary institutes and centers managed by Purdue's Office of Research. Dan DeLaurentis, Bruce Reese Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, serves as Executive Vice President for Research.
The Bindley Bioscience Center is a multidisciplinary research facility for life sciences and engineering collaboration. The facility provides shared laboratory space and scientific equipment for projects ranging from disease research to biofuels development. In 2012, the building was expanded by 29,000 square feet with the addition of the Multidisciplinary Cancer Research Facility.
The Birck Nanotechnology Center is a 187,000-square-foot (17,400 m2) research facility consisting of a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) nanofabricationISOclass 3cleanroom, including a biocleanroom, heavy laboratory space, and office areas. The center focuses on nanotechnology research addressing applications in computing, communications, the environment, security, energy, and health.
The Burton D. Morgan building houses Purdue's innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization programs, including the Office for Corporate and Global Partnerships. The Purdue Foundry, a commercialization hub launched in 2013, operates from this facility along with the Office of Technology Commercialization, the Certificate for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, and the Small Business Development Office.
Gerald D. and Edna E. Mann Hall houses sustainability research programs and institutes.
This building houses research centers focused on science and engineering education, computational nanotechnology, and materials science, supporting research in STEM learning.
The Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery operates specialized facilities for pharmaceutical research and development.
This facility provides electron microscopy capabilities for research across multiple disciplines.
The development has generated investment and employment in aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and technology sectors in the Greater Lafayette region. The district's research facilities attract collaborators from Purdue's colleges and schools, regional campuses, and partner institutions including Indiana University. International research collaborations include partnerships with institutions in Australia, China, India, South Korea, and countries in Africa and South America.
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40°25′20.74″N86°55′23.52″W / 40.4224278°N 86.9232000°W /40.4224278; -86.9232000