Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, at left, announced the investment during a panel in Huntsville Dec. 9. Photo: Derek Lacey/Axios
Huntsville is putting its cards on the table in a bid to land the state's largest-ever single industrial investment.
Why it matters: The deal, to land Eli Lilly's $6-billion plant announced last December, is helping shape what Huntsville's diversifying economy will look like in the future.
The latest: Huntsville City Council will vote on a project development agreement tonight with the company, gifting it the 260-acre site and reserving a 240-acre site next door for potential expansion.
The deal includes $2 million from the city for workforce training, recruitment and development costs, half when they hit 200 employees and half when they hit 400.
Non-educational sales and use taxes and non-educational property taxes will be waived for 10 years once the plant is constructed.
Zoom in: The deal requires Eli Lilly to invest at least $4.2 billion in constructing and equipping a 750,000-square-foot facility, and to create 449 jobs with an average wage of $54.20.
Construction must start by March 31, 2027 and the plant must begin operations by the end of 2033.
Catch up quick: The campus, set for the corner of I-565 and Greenbrier Road, will produce orforglipron, Eli Lilly's first small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, its first oral weight loss drug.
At the announcement, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said the investment could generate up to $25 billion in local economic activity, create 3,000 construction jobs and "be the most advanced pharmaceutical plant we've ever built."
