COLUMBUS, Ohio — All this week, 10TV along with our partners at ThisWeek Community News is showcasing "What's New in 2022" around central Ohio.
Shopping centers, apartments, parks, community centers, festivals and a computer chip factory are among several new projects planned, or in the works, in greater Columbus this year.
Here's a closer look at some of the economic development happening in 2022:
WESTERVILLE
Something big is happening in downtown Westerville that city officials hope will bring the community together.
Right now construction crews are building Westerville's new Justice Center at 229 Huber Village Boulevard. According to city leaders, what makes the facility unique is putting vital service training space all under one roof.
"Just putting it all in a one-stop-shop for the community if you need something justice-related," said Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler.
Chandler is excited about the city's newest project. This is a $16.7 million investment approved by the voters in November of 2019. The new facility will now join the entire police department but it will also have a court facility that will double as a community/training room.
Chief Chandler believes this is an opportunity to expand their role in the community.
"We're now going to have the room and the training facilities to bring the community in with us to be able to do more training in-house," Chandler said.
The community would be able to participate in classes including things like self-defense classes. This is just the beginning for this facility. Police will also be able to train with a new "force simulator" where officers can run through various situations. The training space will also double as an emergency operation center.
Chief Chandler calls this a more efficient and effective facility replacing the other that is over 30 years old. They expect the facility to be completed by the end of June of this year.
DELAWARE
What is currently an empty field in Delaware will soon become a new economic hub for the city.
Plans are already in place to transform the 89-acre spot located at Sawmill Parkway and Route 42 into the first business park in Delaware since 2015.
Once constructed, the Sawmill Pointe Business Park will house up to 50 businesses and bring an estimated 3,600 jobs to the area.
It’s a more than $18 million investment that city officials say is expected to bring in roughly $1 million annually in tax revenue.
The park itself will be located right next to the airport, which Economic Development Director Sean Hughes says will bring in international business.
You can view an aerial look of the land provided by developer Excel in the player above.
GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS
Grandview Heights has always been known as a community with a small-town feel. It's a community where someone can get from one end of town to the other in about two miles. Because of this, the city is proud to say it's a walkable city. Now, the community is taking more steps, or maybe a giant leap, with Grandview Crossing.
"It's about 55+ acres total. About a third of that is on the Grandview side and it's a multi-use, modern, very forward-thinking vision," Grandview Heights Mayor Greta Kearns said.
Grandview Crossing sits on the corner of Grandview Avenue and Riverside Drive.
It was once a contaminated piece of land. Planners were not certain what to do with it until city leaders saw its potential. The site now has a purpose.
New apartments, retail and other attractions are going up at the location, which means more tax dollars to the community.
"This is tremendous. Tremendous opportunity for us that fits really perfect with our planning,” Mayor Kearns said.
The new development will generate about $625,000 annually in property taxes, and $400,000 of it will go to Grandview Heights Schools.
Grandview Crossings is pushing the limits of what the city can do but Mayor Kearns said it's been nonstop development for them, and this latest project is just another step forward.
REYNOLDSBURG
One piece of land under construction in Reynoldsburg could hold the key to an economic boost for the city.
It's located just east of Reynoldsburg City Hall on East Main Street in an area Mayor Joe Begeny calls "Olde Town Reynoldsburg."
The land was purchased by the city for $625,000 and officials are now working with a developer who looks to invest over $3 million and bring in several businesses like coffee and ice cream shops.
Mayor Begeny said this will be an attraction for residents who enter the historic district and that the city wants to make sure the businesses brought in do not compete with the other restaurants currently in the area.
"We wanted something to be a compliment to it,” Begeny said.
The new gathering spot is also bringing in something important to any community — more parking.
Construction on the land will begin soon and the city is hoping this will help revitalize an area with so much potential.
NEW ALBANY
It started as a dream. Officials in New Albany have been looking over a 3,000-acre land just outside of the city. It's where they saw the future —the future of an economic boom thanks to computer chips.
"It's so vitally important that we make these chips right here in the United State of America." Ohio Governor Mike Dewine was proud to make the announcement last month after the region reached an agreement with Intel to build the largest semi-conductor plant in the world.
"We really anticipate that this will have an impact on the entire region and the state," New Albany Mayor Sloan Spalding said.
Intel is investing $20 billion into the project that will create around 3,000 high-paying jobs. This development will also create thousands of other jobs through the construction of two chip factories.
"We've had wild success in our business campus and look forward to expansion, and the 3,000 acres gives us that opportunity," the mayor said.
Construction on the new Intel plants is expected to begin this year with a completion date set for 2025. Not only is this a big win for New Albany, but it's a way for the region to shine with the hope that it will spur more business that the entire state, and country, will benefit from.
Watch Wake Up CBUS all this week to find out "What's New in 2022."
Our partners at ThisWeek Community News have stories about several new projects in 2022:
- Columbus Food Truck Festival once again will be in Hilliard in August
- Delaware: Byxbe Campus will centralize government services
- Dublin putting finishing touches on Riverside Crossing Park this spring
- Old school Dublin Irish Festival slated to return Aug. 5-7
- Upper Arlington is getting its first community center
- Westerville looking at outdoor active park with zip lines
- Worthington Gateway should start to open in 2022