TIPPECANOE COUNTY

TIPPECANOE COUNTY Purdue wants tax abatement to expand research park

The Purdue Research Foundation has received preliminary approval for tax abatement on its research park that would save the foundation $1.5 million in taxes.

The abatement for the Purdue Research Park was approved Jan. 7 by the West Lafayette Economic Development Commission. It likely will go before the City Council in February.

Purdue wants the 10-year abatement to offset costs related to expanding the research park for more business incubator space. Construction crews have begun preparing ground that will accommodate a 105,000-square-foot building.

Work on the structure might begin by the end of March, depending on weather. The new building should be ready for occupants by the end of the year and likely will house up to 30 companies. Those companies could hire up to 275 workers who would earn as much as $58,000 a year.

The business incubator provides space to startups and allows resources to be shared. If the building reaches capacity, plans call for two more buildings, each about 40,000 square feet, adjacent to the main building.

Tax abatements lower the amount of property tax a business must pay on improvements for the time period approved. The company pays a percentage of the taxes it would have owed without the abatement. That percentage grows each year until it reaches the time the company pays 100 percent of taxes owed.

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