Purdue shells out $155M for Aspire, 74% more than it was worth new 3 years ago

University jumps at chance for apartment complex next to campus as enrollment surges, outbids competition for Aspire, once touted as first private housing option in Purdue’s Discovery Park District

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In an aside during a June trustees meeting, Purdue President Mitch Daniels suggested it was obvious why Balfour Beatty – the private firm that opened Aspire, the first housing complex in Purdue’s Discovery Park District, in 2019 – was motivated to sell the property along State Street after just three years.

Daniels’ guess, as the university was in the final negotiations for the property in June, was: “They’re going to do well on this.”

With Purdue aggressively bidding on the property right next to campus, seeing Aspire as a better, quicker alternative than building a new dorm to handle a series of record enrollment years, just how well became clear Monday morning.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)