Land Bank, Sunday Creek Horizons seek partnership to build modular homes in east Newark
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NEWARK − The Licking County Land Bank hopes to partner with Sunday Creek Horizons, an advocacy group for Appalachian Ohio, on a pilot project to build modular affordable housing in east Newark.
The proposal is to build three homes at the end of Washington and South Webb streets, where the Land Bank demolished one home and two other lots have been vacant and overgrown with trees and brush for many years.
Greg Ketter, co-executive director of the Land Bank, told his board on Thursday that Sunday Creek Horizons asked about a potential location for the project.
“The Land Bank contribution would be to clear the site,” Ketter said. “It’s a pretty overgrown site, zoned for single-family.”
Jay Hottinger, the Sunday Creek Horizons executive vice president and former state senator and state representative, said the property would be acquired through the Land Bank and Sunday Creek Horizons would partner with Champion Homes, of Indiana, to build the modular homes.
“We’re still in the early stages,” Hottinger said. “One of the things we do is housing across the entire spectrum. The need for workforce housing is everywhere. We all have to step up and find ways to help.”
Modular homes are houses built in sections, called modules, off-site, usually in an indoor, quality-controlled setting, according to specific plans. The sections are transported to the site where builders assemble and install the house into the foundations.
“We first want to see if the pilot project works,” Hottinger said. “We’d start small. This is not going to solve the problem by any stretch of the imagination. I’m hopeful by the end of the year, it’s possible the first home is up and available. That might be a little aggressive.”
The lack of housing at all price points became even more obvious when Intel Corporation announced in January 2022 that it planned to build a $20 billion computer chip manufacturing operation just south of Johnstown on Jersey Township land since annexed into New Albany. Two factories are scheduled to begin production in 2025. And the development could expand to $100 billion.
Intel plans to hire at least 3,000 to work at its factories, called fabs. About 7,000 construction workers will be needed, and the development could create 10,000 indirect jobs.
Zach Reizes, vice president for operations at Sunday Creek Horizons, said several factors made Licking County a good place to start such a project.
Hottinger knows the community and wants to help, the Land Bank is a willing partner, and the Intel development has elevated Licking County to the forefront of the housing crisis, Reizes said.
“Realistically, this is a mixture of the right circumstances at the right time,” Reizes said. “Licking County is a great location for affordable housing project because we know housing is in great demand.
“Our work to serve the Appalachian community, and in rural places, has really led us to try innovative solutions to develop affordable housing. We’re building the plane, hopefully before we start to fly it.”
Through seven months, Licking County has had 1,186 home sales, with an average sale price of $322,261. The sale price is up very slightly from the full year of 2022, but three years ago, the average was $248,442.
“There are a lot of unknowns right now," Reizes said. "Our goal is to sell a house for under $200,000, to provide access to housing for those who couldn’t afford it.”
Since 2015, there have been 240 projects and $5 million move through the Land Bank,
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Land Bank pursues partnership to build modular homes in east Newark
