GREENFIELD — Elanco Animal Health, whose global headquarters is one of the city’s most important employers, is leaving to build a new home base in Indianapolis.
The company, which has been associated with Greenfield since the days it was a promising subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co., announced Friday morning that it would build a new world headquarters on the west side of Indianapolis.
Elanco’s Greenfield campus, built a decade ago when Elanco was becoming a key part of Lilly’s business, will be vacated.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe company employs about 950 at its Greenfield site and has been in its offices on Innovation Way since 2010.
In a news release, the company said it would move to a 45-acre former industrial site located in the southwest corner of downtown Indianapolis on the White River, with a restricted option for an additional 20 acres. The area is the site of the former GM stamping plant, and developers have been eyeing it for years.
The company said it would spend $100 million on the complex. It is expected to take two to three years to complete.
The Indianapolis Business Journal reported that the state will provide up to $73 million in conditional tax credits over a 10-year period for the project. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. is also providing up to $4 million in training grants based on the company’s commitment to retain 1,623 Hoosier jobs and create up to 573 new, high-wage jobs.
The IEDC also offered up to $7 million in assignable redevelopment tax credits, up to $2 million in conditional Hoosier Business Investment tax credits, and up to $500,000 for relocation expenses based on the company’s plans to invest significantly in a new global corporate headquarters, the IBJ reported.
Elanco has a long history in Greenfield. Before it built its campus in Progress Park on the north side of the city, it maintained offices and labs at Eli Lilly’s Greenfield Laboratories on West Main Street. Elanco separated from Lilly in 2018 in an initial public offering, making Greenfield home to a leading animal health company.
The company experienced tremendous growth during its time in Greenfield. A number of acquisitions — especially the $7 billion purchase of Bayer AG’s animal health division — has made it the world’s second-largest animal health company, behind only New Jersey-based Zoetis.
“It is gratifying to return to our roots in Indianapolis — where we started as a subsidiary of Eli Lilly & Co in 1954 — to continue the acceleration of our innovation agenda and provide promising careers to talented Hoosiers while attracting top global talent to the state,” said Jeff Simmons, Elanco’s CEO. “Additionally, we are grateful for the community support we have received in our current home in Greenfield. We look forward to working with the state to find a future tenant for the site.”
In its announcement, Elanco said it came to its decision after a rigorous, multi-state search. The company praised the new downtown Indianapolis location, saying it offers the opportunity to build a “smaller, more efficient campus” that should translate to meaningful cost savings and feature lower costs per employee compared with its current operations. The new location will have about 25% less office space than the Greenfield headquarters.
“With a shared vision for the future of the agbioscience industry and the modern, post-COVID era workplace in Indiana, we are pleased Elanco can serve as a catalyst through our global headquarters and base of future consolidated operations and capabilities in Indiana,” Simmons said. “In partnership with Gov. (Eric) Holcomb, (Indianapolis) Mayor (Joe) Hogsett and the IEDC, we look forward to continuing our nearly 70-year history in Indiana, building a leading animal health company and serving the Indianapolis community.”
Holcomb called the decision “a momentous day” for Indiana that will position Elanco for further growth and consolidation.
“Elanco is an important asset to Indiana, a leader in our growing agbioscience sector, which is poised to grow and continue innovating,” Holcomb said in written remarks. “We are thrilled with the direction of Elanco’s future and the transformational impact its growth will have on the agbioscience sector, the downtown Indianapolis footprint, and most importantly, the lives of Hoosier workers.”
Elanco will retain its manufacturing centers in Clinton, Indianapolis and Terre Haute.
