Greater Lafayette, A Community of Choice

Since 2009, Greater Lafayette’s Community of Choice Committee has been working to initiate a broad-based dialog about the quality of life within Greater Lafayette which moves beyond superficial statements of praise and commendation to defined, specific facts as they exist and as they compare to other comparable communities. Since May, our team has been listening to and working with hundreds of residents and former residents in your region. The key inquiry we pursued was, “What will it take for Greater Lafayette to be a community of choice for diverse, top talent?” This page contains our findings from our “Discover” phase of work—the standard first step we take with all clients.

This has been a terrific Discovery phase for many reasons:

The Community of Choice committee was bold in choosing seven peer regions that they knew would create some tension for Greater Lafayette;
The region’s stakeholders, investors, focus group participants, and community have been so welcoming; if every new resident could experience the kind of welcome we received, your reputation for being “open” would soar; and
Working in a region with so much potential is liberating. We believe that Greater Lafayette could become - in the next decade or two - something really special.

What we have learned is that Greater Lafayette is a different city, depending on who you are.

For retirees, Greater Lafayette is a promised land. Retirees are the region’s greatest ambassadors and could continue to be a growing demographic for your region.

Families with young children love West Lafayette because of its strong schools and safe neighborhoods. This is a stable demographic, and will also continue to be important for your region.

But others - students, young professionals, and non-white professionals - see Greater Lafayette differently. They see Purdue as a major asset, but wish that Greater Lafayette could match-up and provide the kind of cultural, social, economic, and community amenities that other Big Ten towns offer.

This is a tremendous opportunity. We have worked in many regions that wish they could have an asset like Purdue. Or Subaru. Or the kind of generosity and grace that springs from long-standing companies like Kirby Risk.

Greater Lafayette has all those things. Now the region needs a map to get from today to tomorrow. Stay tuned!