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February 9, 2005 Purdue, Holladay create technology business park for northwest IndianaMERRILLVILLE, Ind. - A joint venture to develop a $400 million business and technology park on 393 acres in Merrillville was announced today (Wednesday, Feb. 9) by Purdue Research Foundation and Holladay Properties.
The new park, to be called AmeriPlex at the Crossroads, will be located on property owned by the foundation at Broadway and 101st Avenue near I-65. The park will be anchored by the foundation's recently completed, high-tech business incubator, the Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana, along with the 48,000-square-foot Purdue University Calumet Academic Learning Center, which will house 28 classrooms. The business and technology park is expected to take a decade or more to reach its full capacity. "AmeriPlex at the Crossroads is expected to attract companies that will develop 3.5 million square feet of office/lab space, where more than 3,000 people will be employed. We envision a $400 million development once completed," said Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president and treasurer of the foundation, a West Lafayette, Ind.-based organization closely affiliated with Purdue. "This new technology park will be a key asset in Purdue's strategy to expand its role in the economic development of Indiana." Hornett said the foundation plans to apply to the state for Indiana Certified Technology Park status to ensure that portions of tax revenues generated by tenants are reinvested into the park and used for improvements, operation and maintenance of facilities, payment of interest and principal on bonds, and other business-generating activities.
Larry Mudd, project director for Holladay Properties, said Merrillville officials have crafted a new zoning ordinance geared to help create a mixed-use project of this size and nature. The property, which is to be zoned "commercial industrial special district," will include an area designated for medical and life science uses and another area for community or recreational use. A parklike setting complete with walking trails, ponds and heavy landscaping will be complemented by office and retail buildings. The property's mixed-use zoning classification also allows for logistics and precision manufacturing operations. "AmeriPlex at the Crossroads is a beachhead in the new economy of northwest Indiana," said Doug Hunt, a senior partner with Holladay's South Bend office. Hunt will oversee the project, which will be directly managed by the company's Portage office. "This park and its Purdue presence will be a place as good as any in the entire Chicago market." Hunt said Holladay, with input from members of the Merrillville community and more than two dozen research and business specialists at Purdue, has identified an ambitious development strategy that will take aim at two kinds of opportunities: "homegrown" businesses with potential to expand and ventures that emerge from the Chicago market. The Purdue Technology Center of Northwest Indiana officially opened last month after an event attended by U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), Purdue President Martin C. Jischke, community leaders and seven high-tech charter companies. Visclosky was instrumental in securing $6.9 million in federal funding to build and operate the 48,000-square-foot center, which is based on Purdue's award-winning business incubation model. Purdue Research Foundation is the developer of the nationally acclaimed Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette and the owner/manager of that park's flagship incubator. The Purdue Research Park, which the Association of University Research Parks named top research park in the country for 2004, is the state's first Certified Technology Park and home to nearly 130 companies, of which approximately 80 are high-tech - the largest concentration of these ventures in the state. The foundation was established in 1930 to accept gifts, administer trusts, acquire property, negotiate research contracts and perform other services helpful to Purdue University. Contact(s): Larry Mudd, Holladay Properties, (219) 762-1376, ext 28; lmudd@holladayproperties.com Doug Hunt, Holladay Properties, (574) 234-2073, ext 16; dhunt@holladayproperties.com Justin Kitsch, public relations, Office of U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, (202) 225-6187 (mobile), (202) 225-2461 (office); justin.kitsch@mail.house.gov
Related Web sites: Office of U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky
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PHOTO CAPTION: A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/merrillville-aerial.jpeg GRAPHIC CAPTION: A publication-quality graphic is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/merrillville-landplan.jpg |
