HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania officials on Friday announced a $3.5 billion private-sector commitment from Eli Lilly and Company to build a new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Lehigh County, a project the Shapiro administration says will be backed by $100 million in state support and deliver at least 850 jobs over the next five years.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Rick Siger said the company is purchasing a site in Fogelsville for what would be Lilly’s first manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, describing the deal as the largest life-sciences investment in state history.
The state’s proposed incentive package includes up to $50 million in tax credits through the PA Edge Tax Credit Program, a $25 million grant through the PA SITES program, and a $25 million Pennsylvania First grant, officials said. The administration also committed to a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program award of up to $5 million to a local community college or technical school to help build a workforce training pipeline for the plant.
Lilly CEO David A. Ricks said the company is expanding its U.S. manufacturing network to meet rising demand, with the Lehigh Valley site adding capacity for next-generation weight-loss medicines. He said the company plans to create high-quality jobs and work with regional suppliers and educators as it scales up production.
Officials said the project will also receive support through Pennsylvania’s Office of Transformation and Opportunity via the PA Permit Fast Track Program, which the administration says is designed to coordinate permitting for large, complex developments.
The announcement landed as the administration also highlighted a smaller but locally significant redevelopment effort aimed at turning a long-idled property back into a job site.
On Wednesday, Siger said the state approved $175,000 through the Industrial Sites Reuse Program to the Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund for an environmental assessment at the former Front Street Motors property at 1338 West Front Street in Berwick, where developers are planning a small commercial business projected to create five jobs in Columbia County.
State officials said the 0.33-acre site includes a vehicle repair center and parking lot and contains five 8,000-gallon steel underground tanks installed in 1969 to store gasoline and kerosene during the years the property operated as a Hess gas station through the 1990s. The assessment will include additional soil sampling and the installation of groundwater monitoring wells to determine whether contamination is present and how far it extends.
Siger said the goal is to clear environmental barriers that can stall redevelopment, while Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley said the program pairs state economic development tools with land recycling efforts to help finance assessments and cleanups where applicants did not cause the contamination.
Together, the two announcements offered a snapshot of the administration’s pitch: chase mega-projects that can reshape a regional economy while pushing smaller cleanups that can put blighted parcels back to work.
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