New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg is expected to announce this afternoon that Eli Lilly will become the anchor tenant in the first tower of the East River Science Park.

The science park is being built by a private developer with government assistance at 29th Street and the FDR Drive. A source familiar with the project tells WNYC that Indianapolis-based Lilly is expected to bring employees from its Imclone division in Lower Manhattan, as well as from elsewhere.

The Bloomberg administration supported the science park as a way to make New York a hub for the biotech sector. The first of two 15-story towers is expected to open early next year.