New Albany officials estimate a new $15 million project in the New Albany International Business Park will create as many as 200 jobs and generate $100,000 a year in annual income-tax collections.

More than 80 percent of the city’s annual revenue is tied to income taxes, according to New Albany spokesman Scott McAfee. That’s why city leaders place an emphasis on building a strong job base in the city, he said.

Columbus-based Carey Realty Investments plans to build a 300,000-square-foot industrial building on the southeast corner of Innovation Campus Way and Harrison Road.

The building, which will be used by logistics and manufacturing businesses, is being built speculatively, said company president and CEO Ed Carey.

CRI is working with M+A Architects on the project and is in the process of selecting a construction company, he said.

Construction is expected to begin this spring, and the building should be ready for occupancy by the end of the year, Carey said.

New Albany has awarded a property-tax abatement to CRI, and the duration of the abatement depends upon how environmentally friendly the new building will be, said Jennifer Chrysler, director of community development.

CRI will either receive a 10-year abatement on property taxes, a value of about $2.6 million, or a 15-year abatement, a value of $4 million, Chrysler said.

Of the $100,000 in annual income-tax revenue the project is projected to generate, about $30,000 would go toward infrastructure payments, $26,000 would go to Columbus, $22,000 would go to the Licking Heights Local School District and $22,000 would go to the city’s general fund, Chrysler said.

The project is a result of the city’s infrastructure investment in the expansion of Innovation Campus Way to the east, Chrysler said.

The road is being extended 5,000 feet east from Harrison to Mink Street and is slated to be finished this summer. Innovation Campus Way also was extended 1,500 feet west from Beech Road.

Chrysler said city officials have worked for several years to diversity the industries in the business park. The park began attracting corporate offices and operations centers, but the city’s fiber-optics network soon lured data centers, she said.

Likewise, the presence of Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital and OrthoNeuro brought businesses in the health-care industry.

As the business park’s Personal Care and Beauty Campus filled out, the city has shown that it also can be a home for manufacturing and logistics centers, Chrysler said.

Chrysler said CRI’s project is its first in New Albany.

“We’re excited to work with this team,” she said.

By Sarah Sole
From This Week News