New Albany Company makes move into Johnstown with property buy north of Intel

Development appears to be headed north into Johnstown from the Intel semiconductor site in New Albany.

An arm of the New Albany Company has so far bought more than 100 acres in Johnstown less than a mile north of where Intel is building two factories.

An entity called West Licking Properties LLC bought the five connected parcels totaling 105 acres on the north and south side of Duncan Plains Road east of Rt. 62.

West Licking Properties shares an address with the New Albany Co., the developer responsible for assembling the property for much of New Albany's growth, including the Intel site. Jeffrey and Bradley Heimerl, members of the family whose farm made up much of the Intel site, partnered with West Licking Properties in two of the purchases.

Lisa Hinson, a spokesperson for The New Albany Co., confirmed that West Licking Properties is affiliated with the New Albany Co., but added, "beyond that, I can't say anything else at this point."

The property is in the southern tip of the city of Johnstown, and less than a mile north of the Intel site.

The new West Licking Properties purchases come on the heels of the New Albany Co.'s $6 million purchase of 68 acres north of Green Chapel Road, also outside the Intel/New Albany footprint. The developer, under the name MBJ Holdings, has also acquired multiple smaller properties north of Green Chapel Road.

Taken together, the purchases give the New Albany Co. and Intel control of nearly an unbroken string of land from Route 161 to Coshocton Street in Johnstown.

More:Intel wants to add a new Licking County factory "every year or two," CEO says

Johnstown Mayor Donald Barnard said the 50.9 acres that West Licking Properties purchased south of Duncan Plains Road lies in a Planned Unit Development zoning district that the city can control. The property at 11717 Duncan Plains Road is one of two areas with the PUD zoning in the city.

“I don’t know how it’s going to be used,” Barnard said of the property. “The city is working on its comprehensive plan. We’re trying to slow down development until we get that plan in place.

“The plan we have for that area is going to be mostly industrial because that would border Intel. If we have industry come in, we want it there. Most of these are private companies that don’t want to deal with us until they have to.”

An adjoining 2-acre parcel with a house on it was purchased by West Licking Properties and Jeffrey and Bradley Heimerl on Feb. 23.

“New Albany Company was buying land they would use to give to people they were taking land from,” Barnard said.

In addition to the 53 acres south of Duncan Plains Road, West Licking Properties bought 40 acres in the Johnstown Enterprise Center, an empty industrial park on the north side of Duncan Plains. A final large parcel purchased by West Licking Properties connects the Johnstown Enterprise Center land with Johnstown-Utica Road.

More:With Intel and central Ohio growth, comes charges of construction worker poaching

The two parcels West Licking Properties bought in the Johnstown Enterprise Center are adjacent to 20 acres owned by the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority. Rick Platt, president and CEO of the organization, said he had no comment on the purchase but said the authority is also in contract to sell its 20 acres. He said the buyer is not the New Albany Co. or West Licking Properties.

"We are hoping to work with Johnstown City Administration to move development forward on the property we own," Platt said in an email.

"The Port Authority, for its part, finished extension of utilities and building Enterprise Drive in 2021.  We partnered with Johnstown to get this industrial park strategically located where it supports possible industrial development and growth of job opportunities."

The purchases mark an expansion of the New Albany Co.'s development outside the city of New Albany. The company led the effort to annex about 3,200 acres from Jersey Township into the city of New Albany for Intel and other developments, including a potential Amazon data center.

Newark Advocate reporter Kent Mallett contributed to this report.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Albany Co. affiliate targets Johnstown for development