Fort Wayne, Ind. — A public-private partnership between Gilbane and Purdue University Fort Wayne is set to break ground on a 600-bed residence hall. The 213,000-square-foot project will be located near Ginsberg Hall on the university’s North Campus in Fort Wayne.
The community will rise four stories and offer units in studio through four-bedroom configurations. Shared amenities will include a convenience store, fitness center, gaming room, study spaces, lounges, a reception area, leasing office and multi-purpose space. The community will also offer outdoor amenities including a hammock farm, green spaces, a sand volleyball court, basketball court, grilling areas and fire pits.
Approximately half of the beds in this property will be reserved for students contracting with the university for housing, with the balance available to other area students for direct leasing. Preliminary work on the development is expected to begin in October with completion targeted for fall 2026.
Financing for the development — which is expected to total between $90 million and $100 million — will be secured through a private nonprofit foundation created specifically for this initiative. The project team includes Gilbane Development Co., Gilbane Building Co., AVB and Progressive AE.
The university’s student housing has been at full capacity for six consecutive fall semesters, with nearly 1,600 students housed at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year — an increase of nearly 21 percent from the previous year.
“Having sufficient on-campus housing to meet the growing demand is also critical to our ability to create the residential campus environment our students and their families have come to expect,” says Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer. “The correlation between the sustainability of increased enrollment and longer-term solutions to address the needs of current and prospective students wishing to live on campus continues to be an integral part of our strategic planning.”