One big project in the State Street development plan is a city council vote away from being shrunk.
The Hub – a mixed residential and commercial building – is being scaled back from 15 to 11 stories. The property developer, Core Spaces, petitioned the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission this week for the latter.
Core Spaces Chief Development Officer Eric Grimm says the decision came from market research.
“We market to students, but we often do get young professionals and even adults that inquire and lease at our properties,” Grimm says. “It’s a little bit smaller of a project, I think that makes people feel a little bit more comfortable.”
The Area Plan Commission voted unanimously to approve the decision. Their recommendation will be passed to the West Lafayette City Council.
The city has come under fire in recent months for its high-rise plans – two other large residential buildings are slated for the same area as the downsized project.
Grimm says his team and the city staff deliberated for about six months on changes to the Hub.
“We’ve been all over the map with this project and I think we ended up with something that everyone really liked,” Grimm says. “The unanimous vote tonight to get past APC, I think, tells the story.”
The building’s maximum bedspace is 630 bedrooms, plus a 200-space internal parking garage. It’s expected to be complete sometime next year.
Beside it, where the University Lutheran Church now sits, a 16-story building is set to be erected.
