Eli Lilly breaks ground on $5B Goochland pharma facility creating 650 jobs

Eli Lilly has officially started construction on a $5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Goochland County's West Creek Business Park, Richmond BizSense reported.

The project will cover about 1 million square feet once complete and is expected to create roughly 1,800 construction jobs and 650 permanent positions, according to NBC12.

The plant will focus on producing bioconjugate and monoclonal antibody medicines used to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, marking the company's first fully integrated facility for these therapies, WRIC 8News noted.

The groundbreaking ceremony included Lilly CEO David Ricks, Governor Abigail Spanberger, and other officials who highlighted the project's expansion from an initial $2.1 billion investment to over $5 billion, per NBC12.

This facility is part of Eli Lilly's broader $50 billion investment plan to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing across the United States, with the Goochland site being one of 10 new manufacturing locations announced since 2020.

Dominion Energy recently received approval to install a $98 million power transmission line and substation to supply electricity to the West Creek site, as reported by Richmond BizSense.