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Case File · New Albany, Franklin/Licking Counties, OH
New Albany created a 5,000-acre Technology Manufacturing District that attracted Meta, Google, AWS, and Microsoft — with Intel's $28B fab next door. Purpose-built zoning. Unanimous approvals. Zero denials. The Silicon Heartland playbook.
Cited corridor read: 90/100 and identified the TMD zoning framework as the strongest by-right path in Central Ohio.
$15B+
Combined Investment
4
Hyperscalers
5,000+ acres
Campus
65-100%
Tax Abatement
1 GW
Meta Prometheus
$28B
Intel Adjacent
The Silicon Heartland
2009
Early data center investment begins
New Albany's business park attracts initial data center interest. The New Albany Company, the master developer of the 5,000-acre International Business Park, begins positioning the community for technology-driven economic development with shovel-ready infrastructure and a cooperative zoning framework.
2019
Google commits $600M to New Albany campus
Google announces a $600 million data center investment in New Albany, validating the community's infrastructure strategy and signaling to other hyperscalers that Central Ohio has the power, fiber, and political environment for large-scale deployment.
2022
Intel $20B fab + TMD rezoning of 1,689 acres — unanimous approval
Intel announces a $20 billion semiconductor fabrication plant adjacent to New Albany. The city responds by unanimously rezoning 1,689 acres as a Technology Manufacturing District (TMD) — purpose-built zoning for data centers and advanced manufacturing with streamlined administrative approvals and CRA tax abatements of 65-100%.
2024
Meta expands to $1.5B + AWS commits $3.5B
Meta expands its New Albany investment to $1.5 billion across multiple campus phases. AWS commits $3.5 billion to its Central Ohio data center operations. The corridor now has three hyperscalers actively building, with a fourth incoming. The gravitational pull of the TMD zoning and Intel anchor is unmistakable.
2025
AWS buys 400 acres for $116M + Google expands to $1.7B
AWS acquires 400 additional acres for $116 million, signaling long-term commitment to multi-campus expansion. Google increases its total Ohio investment to $1.7 billion. Microsoft enters the corridor. All four major hyperscalers are now operational or under construction in the New Albany technology corridor.
2026
Meta Prometheus — gigawatt-scale cluster under construction
Meta's Project Prometheus, a 1-gigawatt data center cluster, enters active construction in the New Albany corridor. At full build-out, Prometheus will be one of the largest single-operator data center campuses in the United States. The Silicon Heartland is no longer an aspiration — it is an operating reality.
The Zoning Innovation
Technology Manufacturing District
New Albany created a purpose-built zoning classification — the TMD — that treats data centers and advanced manufacturing as by-right uses. No conditional use permit. No rezoning hearing. No public vote required. The TMD was adopted unanimously in 2022 after Intel's commitment, covering 1,689 acres of pre-zoned, infrastructure-committed land.
The Tax Framework
65-100% CRA Abatements
Ohio's Community Reinvestment Area program provides property tax abatements of 65-100% for qualifying technology investments. New Albany has structured CRA agreements as standard operating procedure for TMD developments. Ohio has claimed $2.5 billion in data center tax breaks since 2017 — the most aggressive incentive posture in the Midwest.
The Anchor Effect
Intel's $28B Gravitational Pull
Intel's decision to build a $20 billion (later expanded to $28B) semiconductor fabrication complex adjacent to the New Albany corridor transformed Central Ohio's positioning overnight. The fab commitment signaled federal CHIPS Act funding, workforce development investment, and power infrastructure expansion — all of which benefit neighboring data center operators.
The Master Developer
The New Albany Company
Unlike most data center corridors that emerge organically, New Albany's was purpose-built by The New Albany Company — the master developer of the 5,000-acre International Business Park. This single-developer model means coordinated infrastructure, consistent design standards, and a single point of contact for permitting. It is the closest thing to a managed campus at municipal scale.
Key Decision Makers & Stakeholders
Mayor Sloan Spalding
Mayor, City of New Albany
New Albany, Ohio
Documented Record
Championed the Technology Manufacturing District rezoning in 2022, which was approved unanimously. Publicly positioned New Albany as a technology hub and worked with The New Albany Company to attract hyperscaler investment through streamlined approvals and infrastructure commitments.
Mayor Spalding has been the political architect of New Albany's data center corridor. The unanimous TMD rezoning reflects both the community's economic development consensus and Spalding's ability to build political support for large-scale technology investment. His administration has maintained a consistently pro-development posture without triggering meaningful opposition.
JobsOhio
State Economic Development Corporation
Columbus, Ohio
Documented Record
Provided state-level incentive coordination for data center investments across Central Ohio. Worked with Intel, Meta, Google, AWS, and Microsoft on site selection, workforce development, and tax incentive structuring. Ohio's $2.5 billion in claimed data center tax breaks since 2017 flows through JobsOhio-coordinated CRA agreements.
JobsOhio operates as the state's deal-making arm — a private nonprofit that can move faster than traditional state agencies. Their coordination of CRA tax abatements, workforce training programs, and infrastructure grants has been the financial scaffolding beneath New Albany's hyperscaler corridor. Without JobsOhio's incentive packaging, the TMD zoning alone would not have been sufficient.
The New Albany Company
Master Developer, International Business Park
New Albany, Ohio
Documented Record
Developed and manages the 5,000-acre New Albany International Business Park. Controlled land assemblage, infrastructure investment, and design standards that attracted hyperscaler interest. Worked with the city on the TMD rezoning and CRA agreement framework.
The New Albany Company is the quiet architect of the entire corridor. Their master-developer model — controlling land, infrastructure, and entitlements across a 5,000-acre campus — eliminated the fragmented-parcel problem that plagues most data center site selection. Hyperscalers could acquire hundreds of contiguous acres with pre-built infrastructure and a single zoning classification.
Meta (Project Prometheus)
Hyperscaler Tenant
New Albany, Ohio
Documented Record
Expanded New Albany investment to $1.5 billion and launched Project Prometheus, a 1-gigawatt data center cluster. Prometheus is one of the largest single-operator data center projects in the United States and represents Meta's bet on Central Ohio as a long-term compute hub.
Meta's Prometheus project is the flagship development in the corridor — a gigawatt-scale cluster that validates New Albany's infrastructure capacity and political stability. The scale of Prometheus means Meta is not just a tenant but an anchor: their power, water, and fiber demands shape infrastructure planning for the entire district.
AWS (Amazon Web Services)
Hyperscaler Tenant
New Albany / Central Ohio
Documented Record
Committed $3.5 billion to Central Ohio data center operations. Purchased 400 additional acres for $116 million in 2025, signaling multi-campus, multi-decade expansion plans within the New Albany corridor.
AWS's $116 million land purchase for 400 acres is the clearest signal of long-term commitment: you do not buy that much land unless you plan to build for a decade. Their $3.5 billion investment makes AWS the largest single investor in the corridor by committed capital.
Tax Incentive Critics
State-Level Policy Advocates
Ohio Statehouse
Documented Record
Ohio's $2.5 billion in claimed data center tax breaks since 2017 has drawn scrutiny from state legislators and policy advocates who question whether the incentives generate proportional public benefit. Data centers create relatively few permanent jobs compared to their tax abatement value.
The emerging political headwind is real but has not yet blocked any project. The critique centers on jobs-per-dollar-of-abatement: data centers require massive capital but create 50-200 permanent jobs per campus. As the total abatement figure grows, legislative appetite for reform increases. Monitor state-level tax incentive durability as a medium-term risk factor.
“What if you knew — before committing budget — that this corridor was purpose-built for exactly your use case?”
Two Moments, Two Scores
New Albany's entitlement environment has evolved — from breakthrough rezoning to mature corridor. Both moments tell a story about what makes a jurisdiction work.
2022
TMD Rezoning
Purpose-built zoning classification — data centers by right
Unanimous city council approval
Intel $20B fab anchor commitment
CRA tax abatements of 65-100% standard
1,689 acres rezoned in a single action
2025
Post-Boom Assessment
4 hyperscalers operational or under construction
Growing tax break criticism at state level
Energy strain emerging — gigawatt-scale demand
Approvals continue without opposition blocking
$15B+ combined investment validates model
The Pre-Filing Research
Before you negotiate a CRA agreement. Before you engage a land use attorney. Before your competitor locks down the adjacent parcel.
Site Analysis
Data Center Campus
New Albany, Franklin/Licking Counties, Ohio
Zoning Classification
Approval Pathway
Community Posture
Recommendation
Anchor Tenant Effect
Intel's $28B fab commitment adjacent to the corridor created gravitational pull for hyperscaler investment. Four hyperscalers now operational within the TMD — zero denials in the district's history.
Development Strategy
Proceed. TMD zoning is the strongest by-right framework in Central Ohio. CRA tax abatements of 65-100% are standard. Pre-zoned parcels with committed infrastructure eliminate the typical 6-36 month entitlement timeline.
Decision Framework
The New Albany corridor teaches three lessons about what makes an entitlement environment work at scale.
TMD zoning with 65-100% CRA abatements is the Central Ohio gold standard
Zoning reviewNew Albany's Technology Manufacturing District provides by-right approvals for data centers — no conditional use permit, no public hearing, no discretionary vote. Combined with CRA tax abatements that routinely reach 65-100%, the TMD framework eliminates both entitlement risk and a significant portion of the tax burden. Pre-zoned, pre-approved, infrastructure committed. This is what a purpose-built corridor looks like.
Ohio's $2.5B in tax breaks is creating political headwinds — monitor durability
Community risk reviewOhio has claimed $2.5 billion in data center tax breaks since 2017. The scale of abatements is drawing scrutiny from state legislators and policy advocates who question whether data centers — which create 50-200 permanent jobs per campus — justify the foregone tax revenue. No project has been blocked by this criticism yet, but the political environment is shifting. Smart operators monitor state-level incentive durability as a medium-term risk factor.
Purpose-built districts with anchor tenants create gravitational pull
Comparable outcomes reviewPattern: When a jurisdiction creates a purpose-built technology zoning district and secures an anchor tenant (Intel in New Albany, Meta in Henrico), it creates a gravitational effect that pulls other hyperscalers into the corridor. Infrastructure investment follows the anchor. Power capacity follows infrastructure. And other operators follow the power. The New Albany TMD did not attract four hyperscalers by accident — it was designed to.
The lesson from New Albany:
Purpose-built zoning works. When a jurisdiction designs a district specifically for technology infrastructure — with by-right approvals, structured tax abatements, and committed power and fiber — hyperscalers come. New Albany did not wait for demand. It built the framework and the demand followed.
$15 billion says the playbook works.
The Silicon Heartland Advantage
RealClear runs a full entitlement risk analysis — zoning classification, approval pathway, tax abatement structure, community opposition, and comparable outcomes — fully analyzed. Before any CRA agreement is negotiated. Before any land option expires.
Cited research summary · Not legal advice · Verify independently before making investment decisions
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