LVEDC: State incentives helped land Eli Lilly’s $3.5B Lehigh Valley campus
Officials said state grants, tax credits and fast-track permitting helped secure the region’s largest-ever investment.
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation recently shared data, trends and highlights of the region’s economy with a group of state and federal officials.
Of course, one of the highlights was a discussion on how state economic development programs helped land the Eli Lily project, which is the region’s largest investment ever.
The state has pledged up to $100 million in grants and tax credits to Eli Lilly and Company’s $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing campus planned in Upper Macungie Township.
Lilly said it expects the campus will create 850 jobs and 2,000 construction jobs and have a projected $14 billion impact on the regional economy.
“Lehigh Valley is winning generational investments because of programs that the state Legislature and other policymakers have put in place,” said Jaime Whalen, LVEDC executive vice president and chief of staff.
The state support includes $50 million in PA EDGE tax credits, the first time that program has been tapped since it was approved in 2022 to recruit life sciences and technology production to Pennsylvania.
The support also includes $25 million from PA SITES, a program created a few years ago to make properties shovel ready for development by funding utility and other infrastructure needs.
The Lilly project will also proceed through the PA Permit Fast Track program, established by the Office of Transformation and Opportunity to streamline coordination among state agencies and accelerate approvals for significant projects.
“Thank you for supporting all the economic development programs in the state,” Whalen told the leaders at LVEDC’s luncheon. “You can see it’s making a difference here.”
The LVEDC hosts the annual legislative event to keep lawmakers informed, hear challenges and concerns, and ask legislators to support proposals to increase economic competitiveness.
The LVEDC also outlined its economic policy priorities for the year.
They include supporting proposals to increase economic development funding and making incentive programs flexible and deal-competitive, to ensure Pennsylvania can compete with other states for significant projects.
It also supports revising a tax credit program for semiconductor and biomedical manufacturing, to make it more flexible and allow smaller projects and emerging companies to qualify.