AUSTIN, Texas — As developers gobble up land for retail, residential, or a mix of both, many small towns are challenged with making sure their charming towns stay exactly that way: charming.
“We still call it the ‘village center’ for a reason,” says New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding. “We really want to play ode to our beginnings and that small-town feel is super important to our residents that live here,."
This story is part of 10TV's "Boomtown" initiative — our commitment to covering every angle of central Ohio's rapid growth. This includes highlighting success stories, shining a light on growing pains and seeking solutions to issues in your everyday life.
Spalding says he knows it’ll be tough keeping that New Albany “vibe” as Intel builds a new $20 billion facility just miles away. With the construction will come more jobs, more housing, more roads, and more pressure to not let the growth overtake the city.
“I love some of the central Ohio communities like Dublin,” says Spalding. “But I don’t think New Albany wants to have 45,000 residents. We really want to have that small-town feel and we’re going to work hard to keep it.”
That’s the same sentiment Allison Ditto has as she makes Taylor, Texas her new home.
“Everything's walkable and it's also what's perfect about this location,” says Ditto who moved to this town just outside Austin because of its affordability.
“I'm a single mother. I have two teenage boys and I had a budget of $260,000, which is not enough to buy literally anything in Austin,” Ditto explains.
She says she expects Taylor to grow when Samsung finishes its $17 billion new semiconductor manufacturing facility that’s been under construction for two years now. But she also knows Taylor city leaders are committed to keeping the charm in downtown Taylor.
That’s why she chose to work as the hotel operations manager for Talbot Commons, a pocket hotel in a renovated 1950s church.
Taylor Mayor Dwayne Ariola says his advice to boomtowns in central Ohio is pretty simple.
“It’s great to invite others, but don't forget about your hometown businesses,” Ariola said.
“Help them in some shape, form or fashion with facade, grants, anything for beautification to make their businesses more attracting,” Ariola suggested.
Taylor leaders say they found a way to keep the city’s charm by instilling "thoughtful planning” in how it welcomed big business.
“Our new land development code is a form-based code, which means that it's not specific on the uses that are required,” says Courtney Peres, Taylor’s planning manager.
“We're not going to be so much concerned with the use as we are going to be concerned with the structure and how it's built in the area of town that it's identified,” Peres added. That’s that reason why Jesse Tuscano, another Austin transplant to Taylor, chose to open up a coffee shop in the heart of downtown and just a few minute walk from Talbot Commons.
“You know all these towns all started the same,” Tuscano says while standing in the center Ripple and Rose Café. “What we love about Taylor is that you can tell it's going to maintain its integrity.”