This and that: More on the SK hynix rezone plan
A few notes on a Monday, as I continue to catch up after a few days away
Support for Based in Lafayette comes from Purdue Convocations, presenting Tom Segura on October 24 in Elliott Hall of Music. Today one of the biggest touring comedians, Tom Segura, announced the 2025 dates of his global stand-up comedy tour Tom Segura: Come Together. Segura’s highly anticipated new hour of comedy kicked off last year and has been selling out with stops across Asia and North America. Over 40 dates have been added throughout North America and Europe including a stop in West Lafayette at Elliott Hall of Music on Oct. 24, 2025. Join Friends of Convos at the $100 annual membership level by midnight April 1 to gain access to the Friends of Convos presale April 2! Tickets will be available via presale for Friends of Convos and Purdue students starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 2. The general on sale will be 10 a.m. Friday, April 4. LEARN MORE
A few notes on a Monday, as I continue to catch up after a few days away. Thanks to all subscribers for the break.
SK HYNIX REZONING UPDATE: The West Lafayette City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday, during a session at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, to delay a vote until May 5 on rezoning 121 acres north of Kalberer Road for industrial use. That follows confirmation last week from Mayor Erin Easter and Purdue Research Foundation officials that the rezoning request – one that would set up space SK hynix prefers for a $3.87 billion advanced chip packaging facility – would be pulled back for a month after protest from residents near the site to give PRF and the South Korean company time to hold community meetings about the facility and where it’s projected to go.
The issue initially was aimed for a city council vote April 7.
Monday morning, the city posted a notice about the delay, as well about its continued support for SK hynix’s project. Here’s a snippet from that message:
“We recognize that this is a complex and sensitive issue. Many residents have voiced thoughtful concerns, and we’ve also seen a great deal of misinformation and confusion — largely stemming from limited publicly available information from PRF and SK hynix at this stage in the process. We want to assure our community that PRF and SK hynix are in the process of developing a public outreach plan. While we don’t yet have specifics, we expect these efforts will begin prior to the May 5 city council meeting and continue beyond it.
“As a city, we support the SK hynix project and its economic significance for West Lafayette and the region. However, decisions about site suitability, safety, and environmental considerations are deeply important — and PRF and SK hynix are actively preparing to share information in response to the questions raised by the community. We are urging them to be proactive, thorough, and transparent in engaging with residents and addressing their questions.
“We believe more information is coming that will help our community better understand what’s being proposed, how it will operate, and what it will mean for the future of our city. In the meantime, we ask residents to continue engaging respectfully, seek information from verified sources, and attend the upcoming public meeting(s) if they are able.”
As of Monday morning, no meetings had been scheduled by PRF or SK hynix.
Sentiment has been leaning toward rejection on the rezoning plan from the West Lafayette City Council, based on survey last week by Based in Lafayette. On March 19, the Area Plan Commission voted 9-5 to recommend denial after two hours of testimony against the idea from residents in University Farm, Amberleigh Village and other nearby neighborhoods – including some of Purdue’s top researchers in the semiconductor field.
SK hynix indicated earlier in March, through PRF, that it was interested in the West Lafayette site as an option for its 430,000-square-foot facility, expected to open in late 2028 and eventually employ 800 to 1,000 people.
Though essentially just across Yeager Road from the South Korean company’s initial site, the rezoning request and the protest from neighbors who live within view has changed the conversation about what has been touted as one of Indiana’s largest economic development projects and a huge win for Purdue’s role in research and West Lafayette economic development.
If you go: The West Lafayette City Council will hold a pre-council meeting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at city hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave. The only items on the agenda are votes on delaying hearings on a pair of rezoning requests from Purdue Research Foundation, each connected to land north of Kalberer Road, between County Road 50 West/Salisbury Street and Yeager Road.
LSO NAMES ITS NEXT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Janette Brown, most recently a grants officer for the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, was announced last week as the new chief executive officer for the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra. She will replace Sara Mummey, who led LSO from 2012 to January 2025.
Brown is expected to start with LSO on April 10. The job includes managing the day-to-day operation for LSO. She is grants officer for the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, while working toward a master’s degree in philanthropic studies at the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University Indianapolis. Before that, she was executive director of the Indianapolis Youth Orchestra. She also has been an accompanist and private piano instructor after earning her bachelor’s degree in music performance.
“We are excited to welcome Janette as our new CEO,” Stacey Mickelbart, president of the LSO’s Board of Directors, said in a release from the organization “Her musical background and dedication to nonprofit arts organizations will help the LSO continue to engage audiences and inspire a love of music.”
LSO’s next concert will be April 12, which will feature the LSO’s Keller Concerto Competition winners. For more information and tickets: lafayettesymphony.org
Today’s the day to get — or upgrade — your Based in Lafayette reporting project subscription. Here’s how.
GARY ALLAN, NEXT UP AT LOEB STADIUM: Tickets go on sale later this week for a July 17 show with county singer Gary Allan, part of the Loeb Stadium concerts in Columbian Park this summer. Allan has five No. 1 country hits on his resume, including “Set You Free,” “Man to Man,” “Tough Little Boys,” “Nothing On but the Radio” and “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain). Tickets for the general public, ranging from $39 to $99 before service fees, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 4, at www.longpac.org or the box office at 765-742-5664. An online presale starts Wednesday, April 2, using the promo code LOEB2025 at www.longpac.org.
Also on the schedule this summer at Loeb Stadium, the fourth season of shows in Columbian Park:
Chicago blues guitar legend Buddy Guy will play a July 18, bringing his Damn Right Farewell tour.
Warrant, Lita Ford and Firehouse, hit makers from a hair metal era in the late-‘80s and early-‘90s, will be there Sept. 27.
For ticket information: longpac.org.
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
Work was expected to start Monday morning at Haggerty Lane and Park East Boulevard in a closure scheduled to last 90 days. Haggerty, between Indiana 38 East and Park East Boulevard will be closed to through traffic during that time. The project includes construction of a roundabout at that intersection. When the Park East extension project is done in early 2026, the road will include two other roundabouts, at McCarty Lane and at St. Francis Boulevard.
J&C reporter Ron Wilkins had this update in the case of Tom Brooks, a retired lawyer who was killed earlier this year while living in Costa Rica: “Former Lafayette attorney's suspected killer jailed in Costa Rica for at least a year.”
The transfer portal is open, including at Purdue after the season ended Friday with a Sweet 16 loss to Houston. The counts is up to two for the Boilers, after center Will Berg added his name. J&C reporter Sam King had this: “Purdue basketball center becomes second Boilermaker to enter transfer portal.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Casey Smith had this on the recent trend of town halls – with or without members of Indiana’s congressional delegation: “‘You’re not listening to us’: Hoosiers air frustrations as public officials face access scrutiny. From ‘empty chair’ town halls and reduced office hours to unanswered calls and emails, state and federal officials face increasing backlash from constituent
Speaking of which, in case you missed it, this was the scene Sunday at the West Lafayette Public Library, where hundreds of people showed up to a Greater Lafayette Indivisible town hall – in which U.S. Rep. Jim Baird was invited but didn’t respond.
Thanks for support today from Purdue Convocations, presenting Tom Segura on Oct. 24 in Elliott Hall of Music. Join Friends of Convos at the $100 annual membership level by midnight April 1 to gain access to the Friends of Convos presale April 2. Sales to the public starts at 10 a.m. April 4. Learn more here.
Thank you for supporting Based in Lafayette, an independent, local reporting project. Free and full-ride subscription options are ready for you here.
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.