The Residents Forced to Choose Amid Ohio’s Tech Boom
Residents in and around New Albany, Ohio, say data center and semiconductor development is forcing homeowners to sell or move as construction expands across Licking County. The article also examines land assembly, tax abatements, limited transparency, energy and environmental concerns, and Gov. Mike DeWine’s temporary pause on new data center tax exemptions.
Homeowners near New Albany’s growing technology corridor say they are being pushed out as Meta, Amazon and Microsoft data centers, along with Intel’s semiconductor factory, replace farmland and residential properties. Karen and Denton Bucher are negotiating to sell their home after years of noise and construction, while other residents describe concerns about traffic, dust and the loss of rural surroundings. Some homeowners have sold to subsidiaries connected to the New Albany Company or industrial developer Karis Critical, which have assembled and marketed large parcels for data center development.
The article details how the New Albany Company profited by acquiring, annexing and rezoning land before selling it to technology companies. It also highlights Ohio’s extensive property and sales tax incentives for data centers, including agreements benefiting Meta, Amazon and Google, and argues that public disclosure is often limited by subsidiary structures and confidentiality provisions. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine paused additional data center tax exemptions in May 2026 after reports of underestimated tax costs, but the pause does not affect existing agreements. The developments have become a major political issue amid opposition to energy use, environmental impacts, public subsidies and the displacement of residents.