Intel shapes Licking County's 10 biggest development stories of 2023
The Intel Corporation's January 2022 announcement of its plans to build a $20 billion computer chip manufacturing operation just south of Johnstown was clearly the top story of 2022 in Licking County.
In 2023, the top stories were again Intel-related, as various developments began in preparation for the start of Intel production in 2025. Every developer mentions Intel at some point during the explanation of their plans. And there were several large land purchases, possibly for future developments.
Leaders in every city, village and township in the county wondered how their community would fit in with the rapidly changing landscape and economy of Licking County. In Jersey Township, the massive earthmoving operation has replaced homes and farms, realigned streets and affected everyone in the immediate area.
The Intel development itself, on 1,000 acres of Jersey Township land since annexed into New Albany, has amazed anyone driving by on Mink Street and Green Chapel Road, or seen aerial views of the progress.
The development, which is the largest single private sector company investment in Ohio’s history, will include two four-story clean room buildings, connected by an underground tunnel.
A September company tour showed massive excavation work for the basement levels of the two factory buildings, heavy construction equipment everywhere, miles of pipe awaiting installation, batch plants making concrete, several huge cranes, large hills of dirt, and temporary dirt roads to allow for movement of construction equipment. Intel had laid 16,000 cubic yards of concrete at that time.
AEP is building a new substation just to serve the factory. The substation will be large enough to power 65 homes for a year.
The Intel site includes 250 acres set aside for suppliers. When Intel announced the project, it said it already had about 140 suppliers in Ohio, and about 30 of them were expected to locate around the plant.
Intel expects to hire 3,000 full-time high-skilled employees to operate the factories, including 2,000 technicians, more than 700 engineers and up to 150 support workers. Hundreds more will work for regional semiconductor suppliers.
Amazon to spend $7.8 billion on data centers
Amazon prepared to make the second-largest private sector investment in state history, announcing in June it will spend an estimated $7.8 billion over the next six years to build data center operations in central Ohio.
The move marks a major expansion of its data center service business that dates to 2015, when it announced its initial data centers for the region. Amazon did not say how many data centers it will build, or where they will be built, as part of the expansion. A single data center can cost at least several hundred million dollars.
Amazon says it is considering numerous locations. The company bought nearly 400 acres along Beech Road NW, near the Intel site, for $116.6 million. It has not released any plans for the location.
Microsoft pays plans massive data center sites
The Microsoft Corporation's purchase of 183 acres in western Licking County was officially recorded June 20, according to the Licking County Auditor's Office.
Microsoft paid $56.9 million, or $310,000 per acre, for the city of New Albany property located between Beech Road and the Licking-Franklin county line. The land is north of Fitzwilliam Lane N.W., and less than a mile south of U.S. 62.
The property had been owned by New Albany Company affiliate MBJ Holdings, which purchased it June 5.
In October, Microsoft also paid $30.65 million for 289 acres on the north side of Refugee Road between Mink Street and Etna Parkway in the Pataskala Corporate Park. The company did not say what exactly it planned for the Pataskala property, but suggested that it would also be for data centers.
In November, the village of Hebron hosted a public forum to discuss Microsoft's plans to buy more than 300 acres in the village and in Union Township to build data centers just west of THK Manufacturing. Outgoing Mayor Jim Layton said Microsoft's preliminary plan shows six data center buildings, with about 50 to 75 employees each, but phased in over about 10 years.
Heath downtown dream closer to reality
A city which long imagined having a downtown moved a step closer to that reality with some key decisions late in the year.
The Heath Planning Commission approved in October the zoning for a mixed-use development on 320 acres west of Walmart. On the same November night, the Heath City School Board and Heath City Council each approved a city-school district agreement for the development.
The Planned Unit Development zoning was approved for an area labeled Central Park, bordered by the Newark-Heath-Licking County Airport to the south, Geller Park and the railroad to the north, retailers like Walmart and Target to the east and Marathon tanks and Keller Drive to the west.
The special zoning allows for the creation of a community with areas for single-family homes, apartments, retail, restaurant, parks, assisted living, outdoor recreation, walking trails, government buildings and potential commercial/industrial space near the airport.
It would bring an estimated 300 students into the school district by the time it reaches full build-out in 2031. The housing offerings would include 218 single-family homes on 77 acres, 234 units of multifamily ranch housing, 156 units of townhomes and 1,228 apartments — for a total of 1,836 housing units.
Illuminate USA sets up 1.1 million-square-foot solar panel factory in Pataskala
Illuminate USA, a new manufacturer, announced in March it would build one of the largest solar panel manufacturing factories in the U.S. in Pataskala.
The company committed to investing $220 million in the Licking County community for a 1.1 million-square-foot factory, and the total investment is expected to top $600 million with the cost of equipment, raw materials, staff training and salaries, and everything else needed to start a new company.
Illuminate USA is the first company within the 350-acre Red Chip Farms development as part of the Pataskala Corporate Park.
The company is a new joint venture between renewable energy company Invenergy, a Chicago-based developer of several solar projects in Ohio, and Chinese solar panel manufacturer LONGi.
A November tour showed the progress of the facility, which is set to open in January. The factory will have a total of eight assembly lines that are parallel to each other and the panels will move from west to east inside the factory as they go through each phase of the process.
Illuminate USA expects to hire more than 1,000 employees by the time all eight lines are operating by the end of 2024.
Throughout the fall, residents of Pataskala and beyond have packed Pataskala City Council meetings expressing concerns about LONGi and pleaded with Pataskala and the country as a whole to protect them from what they feel is an invasion by China. After months of hearing from residents for months, multiple council members spent more than 40 minutes addressing questions during the council's last meeting of the year on Dec. 5.
Newark Station adds restaurant, housing
Newark Station, a multi-use development which opened with entertainment and recreation in 2021, opened Earthworks Café restaurant and unveiled loft apartments at the former White-Westinghouse factory on West Main Street.
Co-founders Todd Alexander and Seth Stout opened the first phase of a massive $11 million multi-use redevelopment project in May 2021.
Earthworks Café & Lounge opened in mid-June at what used to be the loading dock of the World War II-era factory building. The spacious restaurant seats about 100, including some outdoor seating. More seating is planned.
The second phase of the 10-acre, five-phase development also includes 18 loft apartments, which became available in October.
407-acre mixed use development proposed, approved in Johnstown
The New Albany Co. proposed the tentatively-named Johnstown Gateway Planned District, a mixed-use development on 407 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 acres recently annexed into 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.
The proposed development was approved by the Johnstown Planning Commission Oct. 10 and by Johnstown City Council Nov. 8, according to meeting minutes on the city's website.
Water and sewer talks heat up
As development ramps up in Licking County, the future of water and sewer services was a hot topic in 2023.
After a 2022 decision by the Licking County Commissioners to expand the service area of the Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District, the utility district purchased nearly 100 acres in St. Albans Township for $4.6 million in March.
The district is moving forward with a wastewater treatment center on that St. Albans Township land.
Construction is also underway on Southwest Licking's new wastewater treatment plant, which will be located on 23 acres at 13057 National Road in Etna Township, near Mink Street. It was expected the plant would cost about $70 million, but District Board Member Trent Stepp said the cost is now expected to be about $85 million.
Once the SWLCWSD's expanded service area was approved, representatives for the Villages of Granville and Alexandria and City of Johnstown began exploring a regional partnership for water and sewer service to ensure they have a say in what future development looks like in central Licking County.
In mid-September, council's for the three municipalities approved memorandums of understanding that allowed the municipalities to keep working toward a regional partnership for utility service in the unincorporated areas of Granville, St. Albans, and Monroe Townships.
At the same time, all three councils also approved entering an agreement giving Granville and Johnstown the right of first refusal for any offers on Alexandria's water and wastewater infrastructure.
Southwest Licking had offered to assume debt service on Alexandria's wastewater plant, extend water and sewer service lines to the village by the second quarter of 2026 and provide other utility services.
Granville and Johnstown submitted their own offer to the village, but out-going Alexandria Mayor Jim Jasper said in December the village was likely to reject both offers and keep the wastewater plant for now.
Housing developments approved, but not enough to keep with demand
The demand for housing in Licking County continues to increase with multiple developments approved or underway.
Scenic View Estates, a high-end housing development, is underway in Pataskala and the development will have 60 lots ranging from 1 to 5 acres. The developer worked with the City of Pataskala to keep thousands of trees so residents can experience living in a secluded forest while being minutes away from the growing Columbus area.
Forest Ridge, a 254-home subdivision by M/I Homes of Central Ohio, is coming to Ohio 310/Hazelton-Etna Road in Pataskala after the project's first phase was approved by the Pataskala Planning and Zoning Commission in July.
In November, Pataskala City Council rezoned the former High Lands Golf Club for a 32-home residential development called The Meadows at Highlands.
Pataskala will also add a 75-unit assisted living facility and 61 independent living villas after a plan was approved by the planning and zoning Commission on June 7.
Work progressed this summer on The Overlook, 66-lot subdivision of mostly two-bedroom homes for older couples to be built on 25 acres of a 41-acre tract off Cherry Valley Road in Newark.
But those developments might not be enough to keep up with the housing demand expected with Intel. The county's single-family home building permits increased each year, from 398 in 2017 to 837 in 2021. But fell to 670 in 2022. Through eight months of 2023, the total number of approved permits for new home construction was at 320.
Developers and builders have said increased prices for land and materials have reduced the profit margins. Inflation, interest rates and fears of a recession have also contributed to the slowdown, experts have said.
Ashley Furniture closes distribution center, sells building to Uline
Less than three years after it was announced that Ashley Furniture Industries would bring a distribution hub to Etna Township, the furniture manufacturer closed the facility late in 2022.
In October 2020, JobsOhio announced Ashley Furniture would bring an estimated 300 jobs and would invest $70 million toward building the facility at 8320 Global Way S.W.
Etna Township Trustee Rozland McKee said company officials told her the departure was for economic reasons.
In May, the building sold for $114.3 million to Uline, a Wisconsin-based company that distributes shipping, industrial and packaging materials.
It will be Uline's first fulfillment distribution center in Ohio, and the company expects to start operations in early 2025 after making renovations and upgrades that should be completed by late 2024
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Intel plans trigger other large developments around Licking County
