Intel’s big project northeast of New Albany is now well-known. People are both excited and cynical about all the potential impacts that will come with it. But what is not discussed nearly as much- and is arguably just as important long-term- is what happens to all the land around it.
Rumors are already flying about developers scrambling to snatch up as much land as they can for housing, and that is no doubt true. The land is largely a blank slate, so what happens to it from this point is entirely up to the cities, towns and townships that the land sits within. Without a coordinated effort and plan, the area will almost certainly become a nightmarish cluster**** of low-density sprawl and endless traffic, which would be to the detriment of all.
So what can be done? How we should develop around Intel is not really the open question some might think. The answer, it seems, is pretty obvious once you get into the details of what types of development provide the most economic and social benefits.
The Area Today
The main Intel site is bounded by Green Chapel Road, Mink Street, Miller Road and Clover Valley Road, encompassing about 1,000 acres, but a larger expansion area is about 3x that size, as shown by the map below.
This area is largely rural and almost entirely made up of farms. There is very little organized development between New Albany and Johnstown, which this site sits between. 2-lane Rt. 62, otherwise known as Johnstown-Utica Road, is the main connection between the two and runs just north of the Intel site.
How Rt. 62 looks today.
Clover Valley Road adjacent to the Intel site.
Planned/Ongoing Infrastructure Changes
2022-2023
-Jug Street between Beech Road and Clover Valley Road is being widened to 3 lanes.
-Jug Street between Clover Valley Road and Mink Street will be widened, but still be 2 lanes.
-Green Chapel Road between Rt. 62 and Clover Valley Road will be widened to 3 lanes.
-Green Chapel Road between Clover Valley Road and Mink Street will be widened to 5 lanes.
-Mink Street between 161 and Green Chapel Road will be widened to 5 lanes.
2024-2025
-Harrison Road between Clover Valley Road and Mink Street will be widened to 3 lanes and will be extended between Clover Valley Road and Jug Street.
-Clover Valley Road will be widened to 3 lanes between Jug Street and Green Chapel Road.
-Beech Road between Innovation Corridor Way and Jug Street will be widened to 5 lanes.
-Beech Road between Jug Street and Rt. 62 will be widened to 3 lanes.
-Miller Road between Beech Road and Clover Valley Road will be widened to 3 lanes.
Beyond these road changes, little of anything else is planned. Where Intel has made a presence in other communities in other states, unregulated sprawl seemed to be what mainly happened, but that doesn’t have to happen here. Here is a general outline of what could be.
Map Highlights
-Rt. 62 becomes a mixed-use commercial, retail, restaurant and residential corridor along a tree-line boulevard capable of handling either bike or transit lanes (or both). Several other roads around the area also become boulevards. A “town center” of sorts could be created at the 4-way intersection in red, with mixed-use corridors in all 4 directions. South of 62, medium to high-density residential on a street grid would be the best use, while north of 62 would be more of a mixed-density residential development on a street grid. In both cases, the residential areas would be dotted with parks and playgrounds, corner shops, cafes and other amenities.
The Intel site and surrounding area itself is already basically spoken for, with several areas of planned expansion, while further to the south, New Albany’s business park could see gradual expansion as well.
Now, none of this is more than a thought experiment. There is likely to be heavy NIMBY opposition by locals to any major development, let alone what would be considered a more urban and dense style. However, development is going to happen with or without local approval. The demand will be incredible and far too strong for it to be killed off entirely. All that opposition is likely to accomplish is to create all of the problems they think they’re trying to prevent. There are reasons to go with density and grids over not. Here are just a few of the advantages of a street-grid-based higher density plan:
1. Higher land values. Gridded street layouts tend to haver higher land values than sprawl.
2. Taxes. Gridded streets allow for the creation of higher densities, and as mentioned, higher land values. Cities and towns therefore get a much greater tax return than they would with sprawl.
3. Lower traffic. Gridded streets allow more connectivity between one street and another, and therefore provide more routes to choose from when attempting to avoid traffic. This allows for more traffic dispersal across the board.
4. Lower infrastructure costs. Higher densities allow infrastructure costs to be divided among a greater population, creating a lower general financial burden for residents, as well as local and state entities.
5. More adaptability. It is much easier and cheaper to rebuild along gridded streets than it is the winding streets in the average sprawled neighborhood. The infrastructure doesn’t need to be rebuilt to change development patterns. So low-density housing can be built on a grid initially and then gradually replaced with higher density residential or mixed-use depending on demand.
6. Better transit access. It is very difficult to build transit systems within a sprawled area. Winding roads prevent higher travel speeds for transit, making them inefficient and slow. These systems are also rarely, if ever, built during the initial creation of sprawled neighborhoods. Sprawl is not very adaptable to adding them later if the population density becomes significant enough in the future to support them.
7. Safer for pedestrians. Because gridded streets do such a better job at traffic dispersal, they can be narrower than say, your typical American stroad. As such, narrower streets tend to slow down traffic, lowering the risk of harm to pedestrians and bikers.
So the benefits are pretty clear, but will anyone see them? Johnstown’s government is currently a hot mess, New Albany- which at least has a bit of a track record in planning- doesn’t own any of the land, and neither have hinted whatsoever that they’d even be interested in coming up with a plan. Few, if any, of the developers buying up property have any sort of track record outside of sprawl.
Enormous changes are coming for this area, and for Central Ohio as a whole. It’s going to take forward-thinking leadership to step up- and soon- before it’s too late.
