The New Albany Co. proposes 417-acre, mixed-use development in Johnstown, north of Intel
JOHNSTOWN − City of Johnstown officials have viewed The New Albany Co. developments from afar, although not that far. Now, The New Albany Co. has a plan for a development inside the neighboring city.
The New Albany Co. proposed to the Johnstown Planning Commission on Tuesday the Johnstown Gateway Planned District, a mixed-use development on 417 acres, just north of the Intel site, bordered by Green Chapel to the south, Clover Valley to the west, Mink Street to the east and north of Duncan Plains to the north.
The site includes 286 recently annexed acres and 131 acres already in the city. The proposed development is divided into five areas and allows for manufacturing, commercial, data centers, office, warehouse, parking structures, retail, park land and potentially more than 1,000 housing units.
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Tom Rubey, director of development for The New Albany Co., said the idea is to develop a large area with an overall vision that evaluates the effect it will have on the community.
“This is the start of a long-term relationship with the city of Johnstown," Rubey said. "Right now, we need to find out what the community thinks.
“This is the basic concept: that you have a mixed-use area right across the street from Intel that includes a residential component, that feeds into the larger community vision."
The New Albany Co. plays a big role in economic development
For more than 20 years, The New Albany Co. has played a big role in developing manufacturing sites in western Licking County, on land annexed into New Albany, south of Johnstown.
The recent 286-acre annexation of Monroe Township land brought Johnstown south to meet the New Albany city limits on Green Chapel Road, across from the Intel Corp. site, where construction on a $20 billion computer chip manufacturing facility continues. Intel expects production at the largest commercial development in Ohio history to begin in 2025.
Aaron Underhill, an attorney for land use and development for The New Albany Co., said the proposal seeks to capitalize on the Intel development for the benefit of Johnstown. If the city approves, non-residential development could occur in the area next year, he said.
“This is largely driven by economic development opportunities,” Underhill said. “The location couldn’t be much more perfect for suppliers and other industries that will kind of play off the Intel project. The main goal is to create opportunities for job growth and big investment in the city.”
Johnstown recently added the Planned Development District for tracts of land at least 350 acres. Before that change, The New Albany Co. proposal would not have been permitted. A newly created board will oversee major economic development projects in the planned district.
The New Albany Co. proposal shows one of five sub areas where multifamily developments could stand on their own, with no other uses. Two other areas allow multifamily accompanied by other uses.
The housing density in the planned district would be about three units per acre, which could mean 1,251 units on the 417 acres. Two of the five sub-areas do not allow for multifamily housing.
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“In today’s world, really, you need some housing; you need some restaurant, service opportunities that help attract these companies," Underhill said.
Some express concerns over proposed development
The New Albany Co. officials said the plan is to limit school-age children in the housing developments by limiting the size of bedrooms and the number of bedrooms. An estimated 95% of the units will be one- or two-bedroom. They pointed to a 128-unit New Albany development with six to eight students.
Johnstown-Monroe School Board President Tim Swauger said the proposal is too new for him to have an opinion but said previous estimates in the district have underestimated the number of students.
"When we look at multifamily, we get nervous," Swauger said. "Our past multifamily (developments) have given estimates of 0.5 (per unit), and we got 1.5."
Swauger said the high school is 40 to 50 students from capacity, and building a new high school would require an investment of $50 million and at least 100 acres.
Underhill said part of sub-area 2 is owned by the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority, which has a contract to sell land on the north side of Duncan Plains, and east of the U.S. 62 intersection, to developer Huntington Industrial Partners.
Cheryl Robertson, a former Johnstown council member and a former member of the economic development committee, told the planning commission, "We promised not to have a distribution center there. We wanted a manufacturer or office building but not a distribution center.
"They're not attractive, and where it's located, coming into Johnstown, that's not a good look. If you don't want this look in New Albany, we don't want it in Johnstown, so keep that in mind. That's how we feel."
Rick Platt, executive director of the Port Authority, said Huntington has indicated plans for a speculative industrial building but not a warehouse.
Alternate funding streams sought for future improvements
Rubey said funding to pay for infrastructure improvements in the area could be paid for by the creation of a New Community Authority, like exists in the New Albany Business Park in Licking County.
The owner of the land would agree to an annual voluntary real estate assessment, which is 9.75 mills in the New Albany Business Park. When the land sells, the assessment is already in place. The assessment is only for new develpments, not existing residents.
“It’s a way for development to help pay for itself,” Rubey said. “It’s a consistent stream of revenue.”
The NCA is governed by its own board, with a majority of its members appointed by the city, but operates independently from the city, Rubey said.
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Johnstown Gateway planned development district subareas
Subarea 1 (187.39 acres): Permitted uses: Office, major institutional, manufacturing, production and industrial, data centers, warehousing, park land. Conditional uses: Parking structures. Located south of Duncan Plains Road and east of Clover Valley Road.
Subarea 2 (68.38 acres): Permitted uses: Office, manufacturing, production and industrial, data centers, warehousing, park land. Conditional uses: Parking structures. Includes area 2B, owned by the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority. Located north of Duncan Plains Road.
Subarea 3 (70 acres): Permitted uses: Community institutional, neighborhood commercial, multifamily residential, mixed-use, parking structures, park land. Located midway between Green Chapel and Duncan Plains roads and west of Mink Street.
Subarea 4 (60 acres): Permitted uses: Office, community institutional, neighborhood commercial, multi-family residential, mixed use, parking structures, park land. Conditional use: Major institutional, auto-related. Located immediately north of Green Chapel Road and west of Mink Street.
Subarea 5 (32.37 acres): Permitted uses: Office, major institutional (with subarea 1 or 4), community institutional (if under mixed use), manufacturing, production and industrial, data centers, warehousing, neighborhood commercial, regional commercial, multi-family residential (as part of mixed use), mixed use, parking structures, park land. Conditional use: Auto-related, parking structures. Located immediately north of Green Chapel Road, midway between Clover Valley Road and the western edge of subareas 3, 4.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: The New Albany Co. seeks 417-acre, mixed-use development in Johnstown
