Chicago-region opportunity. Indiana home base.
Commercializing quantum technologies brings together research, engineering talent, industrial applications, workspace and business support. A location decision depends on how those pieces fit a company’s plans.
Downtown Hammond offers a setting to explore those connections: Purdue University Northwest’s developing research and commercialization facilities, the Chicago region’s quantum ecosystem, and local business-support resources.
For startups, established companies and investors working in sensing, software or advanced manufacturing, these developments make Hammond a location worth investigating.
Explore local workspace ↗From discovery to deployment
At 5454 Hohman, Purdue Northwest is developing the Roberts Impact Lab as a hub for commercialization, entrepreneurship and workforce development. Its planned quantum-sensing testbed is part of the Bloch Tech Hub ecosystem.
The vision is practical: help researchers, entrepreneurs and industry explore new sensing technologies and real-world applications in manufacturing, energy and infrastructure. First-floor renovations are scheduled for completion in 2027.
PNW’s established strengths in engineering, industrial simulation and manufacturing commercialization add depth to Hammond’s startup story—and a reason to locate a team nearby.
Explore Roberts Impact Lab ↗
Russell Campus · Yale Building
Yale at 200 Russell Street, part of Russell Campus, is one downtown workspace option near the developing Roberts Impact Lab. Its property website lists office and flex-space opportunities for companies and professional teams.
Review the published space information and compare the location with your requirements for team size, equipment, connectivity and future growth.
View Yale workspace information ↗Regional context
Hammond sits within Northwest Indiana and the broader Chicago-region economy. PNW’s applied research and manufacturing commercialization work connects the local university ecosystem with an established industrial region.
For a business evaluating quantum-related applications, that combination raises useful questions: which customers and collaborators are nearby, what talent is available, and which facilities match the company’s technical needs?
Find local business support ↗
Programs and investment resources
Explore Hammond’s Enterprise Zone incentives with the Hammond Urban Enterprise Association. Start with an address review, identify applicable programs and get guidance on local registration and participation.
Explore Enterprise Zone incentives ↗Explore Opportunity Zone investment through Qualified Opportunity Funds. Use the IRS’s current resources to review designated census tracts and investment requirements with your advisor, then evaluate the structure that fits your project.
Explore Opportunity Zone investment ↗For Hammond residents
Quantum technology is drawing serious capital and paying serious salaries. When that activity takes root in a downtown, the benefits don’t stay inside the lab. They show up in paychecks, on storefronts, in school budgets and on the streets where you live. Here is what a growing quantum presence could mean for you, your kids and your neighborhood.
How quantum investment could flow through Hammond
Investors, grants and companies fund labs and start-ups.
Teams lease space, buy equipment and hire.
High-wage jobs plus benefits and stock options.
Restaurants, shops, services and homes near work.
Local income tax and charitable dollars stay in the region.
Schools, new businesses, housing and things to do.
Very high-paying jobs, right here
Quantum companies hire researchers and engineers, and also technicians, assemblers, finance, sales, supply-chain and HR staff. PsiQuantum’s Chicago plan alone lists system maintenance engineers, cryogenic plant technicians and non-technical roles among its at least 150 new jobs.
Roles: Illinois EDC ↗Money raised by quantum companies gets spent where they build: on space, equipment, contractors and people. The region is already attracting it. Illinois is investing $500 million in its quantum campus, and the Bloch Quantum Tech Hub, which includes a quantum-sensing testbed at Purdue Northwest’s Roberts Impact Lab in Hammond, has raised nearly $55 million. Roberts Impact Lab is planned as the centerpiece of a $40 million-plus downtown innovation district.
Federal projections show employment of computer and information research scientists growing 22% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the 3% average for all jobs. Quantum work close to home means Hammond students could build those careers without leaving town.
When a young company succeeds, the people who helped build it can share in that success through salary, benefits and stock options. By 2007, more than 1,000 Google employees held stock grants and options worth more than $5 million each, including the company’s former in-house massage therapist. Early employees, not only founders, can see life-changing gains.
Quantum companies are already listing publicly. IonQ, founded in 2015, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2021 as the first publicly traded pure-play quantum computing company, raising $636 million in gross proceeds to fund its growth. A company that starts and scales in Hammond could one day ring that bell too.
Higher local incomes widen the local tax base. Indiana’s county income tax is set by where you live, and Lake County’s rate is 1.5%, so people who work and live here contribute here. Successful tech workforces also give generously: Microsoft employee giving and company match have contributed $1.45 billion to nonprofits in the company’s home state of Washington. Local 501(c)(3) groups could gain new support for education, small-business programs and neighborhood causes.
Well-paid workers spend locally, and that demand supports new restaurants, shops, entertainment and housing. Economist Enrico Moretti found that each new innovation job in a city leads to about five more local jobs over time, for lawyers, teachers and nurses as well as waiters, hairdressers and carpenters.
Business resource guide
Build your plan, explore funding and connect with the people helping businesses grow in Hammond and Northwest Indiana.
No-cost, one-on-one business advice, planning support and workshops through the PNW-hosted Small Business Development Center.
Find a business advisor ↗Connect with SBA funding guidance, counseling, contracting resources and a statewide network of lenders and business-support organizations.
Connect with SBA Indiana ↗Compare 7(a), 504 and microloan programs. Learn how lender requirements and financing options fit your next stage.
Explore SBA loan programs ↗Find the city’s team focused on attracting employers, supporting existing businesses and helping companies expand in Hammond.
Explore city business assistance ↗Explore the Roberts Impact Lab vision, PNW’s commercialization strengths and the developing quantum ecosystem at 5454 Hohman.
Discover the research ecosystem ↗Connect with the local Enterprise Zone association for address-specific program guidance and business participation.
Explore local incentives ↗Consider Hammond alongside your business’s technical, workforce and investment needs. Start with the primary sources and local support organizations, then build an informed location strategy.
Find business support ↗
