Quiet Land Grab: New Albany Co. Snags 146 Acres By Intel’s Ohio One

New Albany's land rush just chalked up another big score.

New Albany Co. quietly closed on 146 acres of farmland just west of Johnstown on Thursday, paying $12.9 million for ground that sits a short drive from Intel's Ohio One campus. The tract had been slated for auction before the developer struck a private deal with the seller, moving the property off the public block and into a developer's hands. The purchase is the latest sign that land near the Intel site remains in heavy demand as builders and tech firms jockey for position in Licking County.

As reported by Columbus Business First, New Albany Co. paid $12.9 million for the 146-acre parcel west of Johnstown and finalized the deal this week. The Business First story notes that the farmland was originally listed for auction before a private agreement was reached with the seller. That reporting provides the deed-level details local readers track as developers continue to assemble large tracts near the chip plant.

Close to Intel's Campus

Intel selected New Albany and nearby Licking County for its Ohio One campus, and in its press materials, the company notes the site covers roughly 1,000 acres and has been under construction since 2022. That scale of investment has pulled suppliers, logistics firms, and hyperscale data players into the market, increasing competition for available farmland and industrial parcels. The proximity to the Intel site helps explain why a 146-acre farm could command a double-digit million-dollar price tag so close to Johnstown.

Developer Strategy and Local Context

The New Albany Company, the master developer of much of the New Albany International Business Park, has been actively assembling and repositioning parcels for industrial, data, and supplier uses, according to the company's news page. Developers often buy farmland to hold, rezone, or package for future tenants, and the firm has marketed large tracts in the same corridor in recent years. Those land moves frequently precede rezoning, utility work, and formal planning filings that turn fields into campuses.

Local reporting has documented how the Intel announcement and long-range planning transformed New Albany into a magnet for data centers, warehouses, and supplier campuses, raising questions about infrastructure, traffic, and housing as parcels convert from farms to industrial campuses. A recent News 5 Cleveland piece lays out the rapid growth of data centers in the park and the region’s efforts to manage that influx. For neighbors in Licking County, the transaction is another reminder that the area's land market is still very much in flux.

For now, neither buyer nor seller has publicly detailed specific plans for the tract. The next signs of intent will likely come in deeds, annexation paperwork, or city and county planning filings. We will be watching those filings to see whether the land becomes part of a larger industrial parcel, a data campus, or remains held for future sale.