From new amenities in the Village Center to the addition of new businesses at our International Business Park, New Albany witnessed exciting growth in 2019. You received the City of New Albany’s 2019 Annual Report in the mail with this issue of Healthy New Albany Magazine as a joint mailer. As you review it, the City’s accomplishments during the past year include the following.
Rose Run Park
Rose Run Park is now complete after more than 16 months of construction, and we were able to open Dublin-Granville Road to the public four months ahead of schedule. Rose Run Park will add even more vibrancy to the heart of town as it connects people to nature, our civic amenities and each other, while preserving green space between Market Square and the school learning campus.
Planning for the second phase of Rose Run Park (the south side of Dublin-Granville Road near Village Hall and the current Duke & Duchess gas station and convenience store) will begin in earnest this year. This second phase will feature additional green space that includes special recognition of the original New Albany Cemetery, connector bridges, trails and up to 79,000 square feet of additional commercial space in the core of town that will serve as a natural extension to the new park area just completed.
Community Development
This past year was a phenomenal year for development, especially in the New Albany International Business Park. Google broke ground on its data center across the street from Facebook, which held its own data center grand opening earlier this year. These two businesses are just two parts of more than $5 billion in private investment represented in our business park. With the recent announcement that healthcare startup hims & hers has chosen the New Albany International Business Park for its mail-order pharmacy and fulfillment center, it’s looking like 2020 will be another great year for development.
In case you’re wondering why all of this is important, the local income taxes from our companies and their employees constitute 84 percent of the city’s general fund budget for services and infrastructure. Attracting and retaining businesses is vitally important to the community to maintain the level of service and quality of life that we provide for our residents, and to increase revenues for our schools. Since our business park was instituted, New Albany-Plain Local School revenues from development in our business park exceeds $75 million.
City Services
Here are just a few items showcasing our 2019 departmental success:
- Our police department earned national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) after three years of work. This accreditation reflects to our residents and business partners how committed the NAPD is to meet a national standard of excellence.
- Our public service department completed the final phase one of a three-year project to replace streetlight fixtures with new LED bulbs that last longer and cost less to operate. They also installed signalized (push button) pedestrian crossing signage at three locations on Market Street and completed the section of leisure trail on Dublin-Granville Road from Brooksview Place to Meadway Drive. Our leisure trail network now exceeds 53 miles.
- Our finance department received Ohio Auditor of State Award with Distinction for financial reporting and the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for New Albany’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). This certificate from the Government Finance Officers Association is its highest form of governmental accounting recognition.
I encourage you to read about the City’s other achievements from the past year and review our financials in the annual report. Last year was an outstanding year for our community, and even though 2020 has seen stressful times, there are sunny days ahead. You can also find a link to this information and stay up to date on the latest New Albany news by visiting www.newalbanyohio.org and by following us on social media @newalbanyohio.
Josh Poland is a public information officer for the City of New Albany.
