INTEL PROJECT BRINGS CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY by Carol Rich
A new $20 billion manufacturing complex is coming to central Ohio — and the impact is poised to transform our region. “The news of the Intel project only confirms and reinforces central Ohio as a high-growth region and presents a great opportunity for all of us,” says BIA Executive Director Jon Melchi. “A significant measure of our region’s success will be measured by how we can maintain housing affordability for all of our residents and keep our promise of prosperity with purpose.” Intel will bring an estimated 3,000 new jobs to central Ohio when they open two semiconductor chip plants in New Albany. The company expects thousands of additional indirect and support jobs, in fields ranging from restaurants to healthcare, will be generated. Approximately 7,000 construction jobs will also be created.
16 BUILDING INSIDER QUARTER 2 • 2022
Positions at the Intel facility will pay an average salary of $135,000 per year, and the company has already posted its first Columbus job openings. The Intel jobs are typically high tech and range from factory operators and equipment technicians to engineers and business support functions. The Intel campus will be built on 1,776 acres of land that New Albany is annexing from Jersey Township in Licking County. The plants are slated to be completed by 2025. “It’s going to absolutely change this town,” says Craig Tuckerman, president of The Tuckerman Home Group. He says with Intel’s employees and the staff of the satellite companies that support them, such as consultants and suppliers, we can expect a major uptick in population. “Our city is going to go through the roof.”
Tuckerman says he has already heard predictions that central Ohio will become a major tech center — a Midwestern version of Silicon Valley. Both production and custom builders, who are already busier than ever, will be challenged to keep up with the Columbus area’s projected population growth — and the corresponding surge in housing demand, Tuckerman said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to provide housing to a large employer in a high demand business sector in central Ohio,” observes Todd Lipschutz, division president Ohio/ Kentucky, Maronda Homes. “The housing industry is as strong as the local economy, as employment and population growth are the critical drivers of our business.” Lipschutz says the challenges brought by Intel’s facility are related directly
