Amy Haase, RDG Planning & Development
76 GREATER LAFAYETTE MAGAZINE
Greater Lafayette is growing, from an increase in workforce to the student population at Purdue University. The region has seen a nearly three percent increase during the past decade, outpacing Indiana’s two percent growth. Purdue’s enrollment is up nearly 30 percent from 2012 to 50,884 for the 2022-23 school year. Satisfying the basic need for housing is a core issue facing city and county elected officials. However, a finite supply of homes and apartments limits the growth potential for Greater Lafayette. “Since 2008, there’s hardly been any new home production,” says Amy Haase, community & regional planning principal for RDG Planning & Design. “Then when you specifically drill down to offering lower maintenance options for retirees, it’s been maybe 30 years that some of these products have been produced.” It’s not just our population that’s getting older. The Greater Lafayette Regional Development Plan notes that 42 percent of the region’s housing is at least 50 years old. Add the fact that the supply of newer homes declined significantly between 2010-2019 compared to 2000-2009 and there’s a domino effect for buyers. The lack of new housing could be correlated with a lack of demand, and this limits existing supply. That leads to increasing the housing cost burden. That statement is backed up by a housing study conducted by RDG. “Compared to a lot of locations, you have an interesting mix of the student population within Tippecanoe County specifically,” Haase says. “How do
