Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Monday, February 2, 2026
Eli Lilly unveils plans for $3.5B manufacturing campus in Lehigh Valley
by Amy Unger, Bo Koltnow WFMZ69
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company is building a manufacturing campus in the Lehigh Valley, a multi-billion-dollar project that promises to create hundreds of new jobs.
Eli Lilly Chair and Chief Executive Officer David Ricks was joined by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and several state and Lehigh County leaders in making the announcement Friday morning at the Da Vinci Science Center in downtown Allentown.
Lilly is purchasing a site on Main Street (Old U.S. 22) in the Fogelsville section of Upper Macungie Township to build what will be its first manufacturing center in Pennsylvania. The property, known as the Fogelsville Corporate Center near Adams Rd. and I-78, is currently undeveloped agricultural land owned by David Jaindl.
Plans call for 925,000 square feet of manufacturing space across multiple buildings. The project is expected to create 850 jobs over the next five years.
According to the governor's office, Eli Lilly's $3.5 billion investment is the largest by a life sciences company in state history. It's also the largest single economic development project in Lehigh Valley history, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) said.
"I meant what I said, the fact that this is a company on the leadership of Dave Ricks, where they could place this facility anywhere in the globe, and yet they made a commitment to investing in the United States of America through these four sites," Shapiro said.
The company was wooed to the area thanks in part to a $100 million funding proposal from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
The DCED pledged up to $50 million in tax credits through the PA Edge Tax Credit Program, a $25 million grant through the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites (PA SITES) Program, and a $25 million Pennsylvania First grant.
The state has also committed to providing a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) award of up to $5 million to Lehigh Carbon Community College to help create a workforce development training program that would serve as a talent pipeline for the company in the Lehigh Valley.
In addition, Lilly is receiving an assist from the PA Permit Fast Track Program, which was created by Gov. Shapiro in November 2024 to streamline the permitting process for economic development and infrastructure projects that are deemed priorities.
“Before I took office, Pennsylvania wasn’t even in the conversation for major investments like this, but thanks to our work to cut red tape, invest in site development, and expand our workforce, our Commonwealth is now competing – and winning – on a national scale," said Shapiro. "Lilly’s commitment to the Lehigh Valley and to Pennsylvania will bring billions of dollars of investment and hundreds of good-paying jobs, solidifying our position as a leader in the growing life sciences industry.”
Friday, January 30, 2026
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Investors are returning to office property sector
By Phil Mobley, Chad Littell CoStar Analytics
Workers were not the only ones coming back to offices last year.
Stable interest rates, improving supply-and-demand fundamentals and broader agreement on pricing underpinned a surge in building sales in the beleaguered sector. Office sales volume for 2025 was more than $56 billion, an increase of $10 billion from 2024, according to CoStar’s preliminary year-end figures. The year-over-year sales increase of more than 20% far exceeded that of the other major property sectors.
Several factors contributed to the rebound. For commercial real estate generally, a more favorable interest rate environment was perhaps paramount. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, a key benchmark rate for commercial real estate investment, began 2025 above 4.5%. By the fourth quarter, it had come down to around 4.1%, and has since remained reasonably close to that level.
While borrowing costs are still higher than typical in the last economic cycle, recent rate stability has given investors more confidence to move forward with loans and purchases. Thus, overall sales of commercial real estate rose more than $25 billion in 2025, with every major property sector clocking an increase.
Within the office sector, a tighter occupancy market also played a key role in attracting increased investment. The national vacancy rate peaked in the middle of 2025, and net absorption, or the change in net occupancy, turned positive for the first time in several years. In some strong markets, like New York and Dallas, the inflection point came even earlier. Meanwhile, a generationally small construction pipeline is likely to constrain future availability for some time to come.
Price stability was one result of these improved conditions. According to the CoStar Commercial Repeat Sales Value-weighted Index, commercial property pricing stayed essentially flat throughout 2025 after three years of precipitous declines. Capitalization rates also held steady at about 200 basis points above their level from late 2021.
While values are still approximately 45% below the cyclical peak, the stabilization suggests that buyer interest in investment-grade multitenanted office assets is returning. While the risks have not disappeared, the prospect of capitalizing on lower property values has brought even some institutional buyers back off the sidelines.
