WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —A 90-year-old barn set to be reassembled at Purdue University may be used more for restaurants vs. the restaurant and brewery that were originally announced for the structure..

The barn was originally on a farm in Sheridan about 40 miles north of Indianapolis. It was taken apart and the materials placed in storage after the original plans were announced in March.

The plan remains to reassemble the barn at Squirrel Park in the Discovery Park District on the campus in West Lafayette.

Paul Bercot, Project Manager at the Discovery Park District, said the original company that was going to operate a restaurant and brewery or distillery in the barn was not able to obtain financing because of factors like higher interest rates.

Bercot said talks are now occurring with another company operating restaurants that might have a slight change of vision for the over 10,000 square feet of space.

“We talked to different companies that operate and run those types of things and it’s kind of their job to figure out what would be the best of that space,” he said.

The barn will start being reassembled once a deal is struck.

“We’re in deep talks with a new operator now. I would be very surprised here if in the next six months we haven’t started construction on it,” he said.

Every effort will be made during reassembly for the barn to look exactly as it once did but there could be some changes or modernization depending on the needs of the operator and what’s required under current building codes. 

“The goal is that when you walk inside of it, it has at least the look and feel of the barn structure,” he said. 

The Purdue Research Foundation led the way for creating the Discovery Park District, a $1 billion development that includes about 150 residences, high end office space along with state of the art research facilities and laboratories on 400 acres on the southwest side of the campus.

Bercot said the vision is for it to become a live work play community primarily for faculty and to attract future talent to the campus by offering the convenience of easy access to work and amenities like restaurants.

Bercot said the barn is a perfect because of Purdue University’s longstanding reputation in agriculture and major role the school plays in the industry. He said a barn with a restaurant inside it also has the potential to become a destination for people in the surrounding area.

“It’s definitely going to fit what we feel is going to be a niche in the market that currently isn’t represented,” he said.

Sonny Beck, CEO of Beck’s Superior Hybrids and member of the Purdue University Board of Trustees, donated the barn at his farm for future use in the district.

The Purdue Research Foundation is paying the cost of taking down the barn and putting it back up.

Whoever operates it will be responsible for the expense of making the structure functional.