West Lafayette officials have announced plans for a new early childhood education center on land donated by Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) along Kalberer Road.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19qYvwwqGc/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Coverage: https://www.basedinlafayette.com/p/this-and-that-downtown-streets-around
That same corridor sits directly across from the SK hynix site — 121 acres rezoned to I3 heavy industry in May despite overwhelming community opposition. PRF and SK hynix call this a “gift.” The timing and location tell a different story: the daycare land deal moved in the same month as the SK hynix rezoning, along the same development corridor.
This “gift” lies across from SK hynix’s future facility and adjacent to Site A, which already hosts a rocket propellant / energetic-materials research & manufacturing operation—a hazardous industrial use due to potential fire, explosion, and toxic emissions. Rocket propellants (oxidizers + fuels + stabilizers) can deflagrate under heat or impact.
A tragic reminder: “Tennessee rocket fuel explosion kills 16.” (BBC, Oct. 14, 2025) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98n4g3p1x8o
That blast flattened nearby structures and released noxious gases over a miles wide area.
Now PRF and the City are advancing a daycare next to that class of industrial risk—and across from a semiconductor plant expected to handle hazardous chemicals and PFAS-contaminated wastewater.
Not Community Care — a PR Tactic
- Instead of addressing residents’ safety concerns, PRF and SK hynix are building optics: a daycare to humanize an industrial build.
- Based in Lafayette reported SK hynix often mentioned on-site child care during the rezone push; the Mayor later said this site wasn’t “directly connected,” but it sits on PRF-donated land—the same entity that brokered the SK deal. https://www.basedinlafayette.com/p/this-and-that-downtown-streets-around
- No public environmental, air-quality, or blast-radius assessment has been released for where children will play.
- Placing childcare within a potential blast, contamination, and evacuation zone violates basic compatible land-use and moral responsibility.
Our Message
You can’t “invest in families” while siting a daycare beside industrial hazards and across from a plant handling toxic chemicals. If the City truly cared about early childhood, it would protect air, water, and neighborhoods first—not build next to the problem.
Take Action
- Keep signing and sharing this petition and update
- Email the Mayor (eeaster@westlafayette.in.gov) and your City Councilors (https://www.westlafayette.in.gov/government/boards-and-commissions/city-council and ask:
- Did you review this daycare’s proximity to industrial hazards?
- Did you evaluate blast/contamination risks?
- How can childcare beside hazardous-use zones be justified?
- How does this align with your duty to protect residents?
- Who benefits from PRF’s “donation”?
- Attend the City Council meeting on Nov. 3, 2025 — demand full transparency and independent safety review.
- Follow for updates:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stopheavyindustry
Website: https://stopheavyindustry.com/ News Letter: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJVmFEz4S43ZrqOAtkUM3KiIqzuExsLpKMibcrMsq9PoPD3A/viewform?usp=send_form - Support Legal fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-our-neighborhood-from-industrial-threat
— Stop Heavy Industry Team