Applied Research Institute Begins Construction on Heartland BioWorks Headquarters

The Applied Research Institute (ARI) broke ground in May of 2026 on a headquarters and biomanufacturing training center for Heartland Bioworks in Indianapolis. Located in the 16 Tech Innovation District, the $24.3 million facility will advance workforce development by enabling hands-on learning opportunities for the specialized skills needed to fuel the state’s rapidly expanding life sciences economy. 

The two-story, 20,000-sf structure will house state-of-the-art classrooms as well as benchtop and pilot-scale infrastructure. Upstream processing suites featuring leading-edge bioreactors will be accompanied by downstream processing areas offering chromatography and ultrafiltration tools, in addition to technology-rich simulation zones for parenteral operations. Uniting innovators across sectors, the headquarters will also serve as an incubator for biotech startups and provide scale-up spaces to accelerate the commercialization of drug discoveries.

Representing the first centralized facility of its kind in the region, the project is supported by an $18.3 million federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and a $6 million investment from Eli Lilly and Company. RATIO Design was the architect for the transformative building, which is slated for occupancy in May of 2027.