Texas has finalized an agreement with Eli Lilly, allowing the pharmaceutical company to proceed with its $6.5 billion manufacturing plant in northeast Houston. The decision was confirmed after the state posted the final Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act tax agreement on the comptroller’s website.
Eli Lilly will build the facility on 236 acres within McCord Development’s Generation Park, a large industrial park near George Bush Intercontinental Airport and the Port of Houston. The plant is set to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients, including orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 drug for obesity treatment.
According to the agreement, Eli Lilly will pay an average annual wage of $102,503 at the new plant—over 110 percent of the industry benchmark for pharmaceutical manufacturing. The company expects to create more than 600 jobs at full operation. In its first year under the incentive program, it must generate at least 75 jobs and invest $200 million. Construction is projected to provide 4,000 temporary jobs.
McCord Development is contributing $100 million toward infrastructure improvements in support of the project.
To secure Eli Lilly’s investment, Sheldon Independent School District agreed to exempt property taxes until 2030 and then cap taxable value at half for another ten years. The district approved this arrangement in November; Governor Greg Abbott signed off on January 5 following a joint announcement with Eli Lilly last fall.
While construction paperwork suggests a September 1, 2025 start date, no physical work has begun since Abbott’s announcement on September 23. Eli Lilly stated there are no updates yet regarding when construction will begin.
The project reflects Eli Lilly’s broader effort to expand U.S.-based manufacturing operations. CEO David Ricks said lower federal corporate tax rates have helped businesses driven by intellectual property but noted that state incentives were not solely responsible for choosing Houston over other locations. He cited workforce quality, available space and cooperation from local government as deciding factors.
Generation Park includes San Jacinto College’s Center for Biotechnology, which provides training programs tailored for pharmaceutical manufacturing careers and draws students from Sheldon ISD into these pathways.
Although Houston does not have a large biotech labor force compared to other regions, it supports more than 700 life science companies operating in related sectors.
