Staff Excellence: Purdue Research Foundation’s placemaking team

Purdue Research Foundation’s (PRF) placemaking team is forging the future of Purdue by creating and sustaining mutually beneficial industry partnerships that tap into the university’s pipeline of extraordinary talent, propel transformative research and enrich the Greater Lafayette community.

“Our ultimate driver is to bring value to Purdue,” says Emily Najem, PRF’s vice president of economic development and transaction counsel. “Industries that work with Purdue are going to engage with that talent pipeline by hiring students or working with researchers. Being additive to what Purdue is doing is really a main focus of ours.

The team’s work is made possible through the efforts of three staff groups and 20 employees, who use their diverse skill sets to expertly drive capital investment into the Purdue ecosystem, placing emphasis on the future growth and development of Discovery Park District at Purdue and Purdue Research Park.

The process begins with attraction — a job that falls to the team’s economic development staff members. They connect and meet with companies that align with the university’s values, carving out a plan to bring them and their innovative projects to the Purdue community. Once leases and agreements are finalized, the focus transitions to helping them achieve their big ideas.

Aside from managing PRF’s real estate, which includes around 1 million square feet of under-roof space, the placemaking team’s facilities group is charged with creating spaces where companies can thrive. These employees work alongside architects to ensure projects are on time and on budget, attend zoning hearings, and engage with West Lafayette, Lafayette and Tippecanoe County officials to help industry partners work through the process of establishing a physical presence at Purdue.

Once projects are complete, the alliances group steps in, acting as the key liaison between industry partners, the university and community stakeholders. They’re professional relationship builders — connecting companies with research, technology, talent and community resources and making sure they have everything they need to succeed.

“We kind of have a front-of-house team and a back-of-house team, and we work really well together to make sure it’s a smooth transition,” Najem says. “A big priority for us is the Discovery Park District, and we all collaborate on that to create this live-work-play atmosphere that’s adjacent to campus.”

The results of the placemaking team’s efforts are present across Purdue’s West Lafayette campus and beyond, especially in the Discovery Park District, which has seen over $50 million in infrastructure investment that has created more than half a billion dollars in economic development.

The growth continues as a community hub begins to take shape in Squirrel Park. Beck Barn, a 10,600-square-foot structure built from a restored 130-year-old barn, will soon house multipurpose space and a farm-to-table restaurant, expected to open this fall. Najem and her team couldn’t be prouder of their part in bringing the project to life.

“We’re all just very excited about it, and you can kind of see it visually coming to life right now,” Najem says. “When we were creating the Discovery Park District, a component of that was to have this town square kind of feeling to it. This facility is one we all worked hard to make happen.”

PRF’s placemaking team members pave the way for ambitious concepts to transform into reality, blazing a trail that advances the university’s ability to attract and retain industry partners that support Purdue’s persistent pursuit of innovation and enhance the Greater Lafayette community.

As the team looks ahead, it’s eager to continue taking small steps that cultivate into giant leaps for Purdue and the industries, families and innovators it welcomes to West Lafayette.

“We want to continue to drive that capital investment into the ecosystem and maintain occupancy,” Najem says. “But we also want to continue to build out the Discovery Park District, bring additional homes into the area and really just be a benefit to the community at large.”