Eli Lilly just pulled a $77 million building permit for its Concord campus, signaling the next major step in a local expansion that’s tied to the drugmaker’s $50+ billion U.S. manufacturing push. The project includes a new manufacturing line being built by McFarland Construction.
The latest permit focuses on interior upgrades and equipment installation inside an existing building. The work supports injectable production and packaging, continuing the multi-year buildout at “The Grounds at Concord.”
New activity in the Charlotte Region’s life sciences sector:@EliLillyandCo‘s campus in Concord was issued a $77M building permit, another milestone for the company’s rapidly expanding campus. A company spokesperson told @CBJnewsroom the work “is continued progress on existing…
— Charlotte Regional Business Alliance (@clt_alliance) February 27, 2026
The Concord expansion ties into Lilly’s broader U.S. manufacturing surge. The company just announced that it would build four new domestic manufacturing sites and push its U.S. capital expansion commitments to $50 billion.
“To deliver on our big bets on next-generation modalities like small molecules, biologics and nucleic acid therapies, Lilly is investing in the state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure needed to deliver tomorrow’s safe and reliable medicines,” said Edgardo Hernandez, executive vice president and president of Lilly Manufacturing Operations in today’s press release. “We are not just building facilities. We are creating a future where American innovation leads the world in pharmaceutical manufacturing, requiring a highly skilled workforce prepared to shape the future of health care. This is a significant step for our company, our communities and the patients we serve.”
For the Charlotte area, the $77 million permit signals continued construction and contracting activity in Cabarrus County. It also reinforces the region’s growing role in pharmaceutical manufacturing, with more specialized production work moving closer to Charlotte’s labor pool and logistics network.
