New Albany has seen strong, steady demand for space from both existing companies seeking to expand as well as new companies seeking to build their presence here.

The central location, four highway interchanges and ease of working with community development officials led to the announcement of an additional 2.6 million square feet of speculative industrial space in 2021. VanTrust’s footprint in the park will expand to 1.4 million square feet when its latest projects are completed. For the fifth quarter in a row, the industrial vacancy rate in central Ohio is at an all-time low.

Al Neyer, LLC has announced plans to build a 542,650-square-foot speculative building at an estimated cost of $40 million. Scannell Properties is planning a $30 million investment in a 355,000-square-foot office building. New to New Albany, Tenby Partners and Oakridge Development have formed a joint venture to invest $6.75 million to develop a 130,000-square-foot speculative industrial facility here. According to a JLL trend report, industrial demand in the Columbus region grew by 60.8 percent between 2020 and 2021. That increase is the result of the city’s central location, within an eight-hour drive of 44 percent of the United States, strong infrastructure, intermodal facilities and airports and strong workforce, JLL reported.