EDITOR’S NOTE: Knox Pages is taking a closer look at how Intel will affect Knox County. This is the fourth part in a continuing series. Part I is here, Part II is here, and Part III is here. Upcoming articles will take a look at housing and the correlation between workforce and skill sets.
UTICA — Nearly 100 residents gathered Tuesday to learn more about the impact of the Intel mega project in Licking County.
The company officially broke ground in New Albany in September 2022.
Betsy Goldstein, founder and CEO of Betsy Goldstein Consulting, said the project is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“This will change Central Ohio for generations to come,” she told the group.
Intel initially plans a $20 billion investment for two semiconductor fabs (fabrication facilities) on 1,000 acres between New Albany and Johnstown. Plans call for a $100 billion investment for eight fabs.
“If and when we get eight fabs, we will be the largest chip manufacturing center in the world,” Goldstein said.
The mega project will bring 3,000 high-tech workers to the area along with 7,000 construction workers.
Goldstein, who clarified that she does not work for Intel, noted there are a lot of logistics with that many people, including hidden ones such as construction site coffee and porta-potty suppliers.
Typically, one worker generates five additional jobs in other sectors, such as retail, food service, and ancillary supplier companies. According to Goldstein, Intel’s multiplier is 13 additional jobs.
She said the project is behind time and over budget. However, she said it’s normal to see such delays with a project of this magnitude.
Goldstein said Intel’s $100 million education investment includes opportunities to obtain one-year certificates and go directly from high school to an apprenticeship.
Intel chose Ohio for several reasons, including significant tax incentives and land availability.
The advantages of building another site in the United States include minimizing supply chain issues, protecting U.S. defense systems that use semiconductor chips, and bringing manufacturing back home.
Housing and roads
Goldstein touched on housing, noting houses are already in short supply in Licking and Knox counties — as well as Ohio.
In Central Ohio, market studies show there is a shortage of $1 million to $3 million homes on the market. That creates a problem because $1 million buyers compete for the $700,000 homes.
Likewise, the $700,000 buyers compete for the $500,000 homes.
When you cannot accommodate the top level, Goldstein said it becomes a downward spiral until buyers at the lowest level are priced out of the market.
“You don’t want that spiral going down,” she said.
Housing density is one solution, but Goldstein noted many communities are not in favor of higher-density developments.
“When we continue to fight against it and keep it out of our communities, then we create a supply and demand problem,” she said.
“When we have one house on every acre, we are going to sprawl forever.”
Referencing a rumored second outer belt or connector routes between Route 33, I-70, and Route 161, Goldstein said, “Roads don’t solve traffic problems.”
Instead, roads allow continued sprawl rather than keeping development contained in a specific area.
Goldstein said the Intel campus will be sleek, clean, and sophisticated.
For a perspective on the size of the Intel mega project, she noted the fabs will have 60-feet-deep foundations.
The height of Carl, the crane that will construct the fabs, is equal to two Statues of Liberty. Its weight equals that of 438 adult elephants.