Eli Lilly to build 1.2 million sq. ft. ‘Medicine Foundry’ near Lebanon; partners outline timeline, traffic and neighbor outreach

Eli Lilly is building a 1,200,000-square-foot research campus called the Medicine Foundry off State Road 32 near Lebanon, and project partners say much of the campus should be producing research output by December 2027.

That timeline and other project details were described on episode 2-15 of the Lebanon City communications podcast by Joe LePage, Lebanon’s communications and community development director; Jeff Lewis, site and program director for the project; and Matt Camparotto, vice president of corporate marketing for FA Wilhelm (a Foundry Partners joint-venture firm).

“The governor was in town...a whole bunch of folks from different universities,” Joe LePage said, describing the recent groundbreaking. Matt Camparotto said the Medicine Foundry will function as “basically a research and development campus for Lilly,” focused on discovery of new molecules, biologics and related chemistry.

Jeff Lewis described the campus as a single building under code but composed of multiple connected nodes. “It is dedicated to the discovery and research of new molecules,” Lewis said, and project partners said the campus will include a lab/administration building, a central utility plant and several research and processing nodes connected by a central corridor.

Partners gave a phased construction schedule and workforce estimate. They said work began in earnest with foundation preparation, that foundations were due to begin around June 1, vertical steel work around August–September, and that the project’s “priority 1” portion—about 65–70% of the campus—was targeted to be online and producing by December 2027. Construction staffing was estimated at roughly 600 management personnel and about 2,000 trades workers at peak, with peak construction activity expected in late 2026.

The partners said they expect the project to affect nearby roadways and that major right-of-way and traffic improvements are being coordinated with outside agencies. Jeff Lewis said the State Road 32 upgrades are an NDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation) project and that Foundry Partners will coordinate with NDOT and LEAP on County Road 200 West improvements. He said County Road 200 West will be shifted west of the existing alignment so residents can continue to use the current road until a crossover to the new alignment is built; work on the 200 West realignment was described as beginning in May and continuing through September of the same year. Lewis also said a new four‑lane roundabout is planned at the intersection of County Road 200 West and State Road 32 as 32 is upgraded.

Project leaders stressed neighbor communication and local hiring. Camparotto said the project will maintain an on-site communications representative and a regular community newsletter; FoundryPartners.com (the partners’ project website) and a toll‑free phone line, (844) 594‑7697, were provided as public contact points. “We want to be good stewards of our communication out to the community,” Camparotto said. Lewis urged residents to report concerns by using the listed channels so the construction team can address them.

Partners also described early outreach to local vendors for food and other services during construction and said the site team has been in contact with local businesses, naming Lebanon’s Titus donut shop as an example of a local vendor that has already participated in project events.

No formal municipal approvals, ordinances or funding sources were discussed in detail on the podcast; speakers said some roadway work is owned and managed by NDOT and by LEAP, not by Lebanon City, and they encouraged listeners to consult the NDOT project pages for traffic‑management details.

For more information, project partners directed listeners to foundrypartners.com and the project phone line, (844) 594‑7697.