By 1808Delaware
Delaware County moved from planning for growth to physically holding a piece of its future when the Delaware County Commissioners voted Monday to authorize the purchase of nearly 141 acres at the intersection of U.S. Route 42 and Sawmill Parkway on the City of Delaware’s south side. The $17.7 million acquisition involves four parcels located south and east of the intersection, in an area already identified as part of the county’s long-term economic development strategy.
County officials made clear that the land is not being purchased for future county buildings or public facilities. Instead, the move is about control, timing, and the shape of development in one of Delaware County’s most important growth corridors.
“This purchase is key to protecting the infrastructure investments the County has made here over the last two decades,” said Chad Smith, Delaware County’s Economic Development Administrator, “and ensuring that development is achieved intentionally rather than reactively.”
A Strategic Corner
The newly acquired land sits across from property already being developed for the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets youth hockey facility and the 250-acre mixed-use and entertainment project known as Maridel. Together, those projects are reshaping the southern edge of the City of Delaware and adding momentum to a corridor that has long been viewed as a major growth area.
For fast-growing counties, the question is not whether development will come. It is whether public officials will have enough leverage to shape what kind of development arrives, where it goes, and how it connects to roads, utilities, housing, schools, and the local tax base. By acquiring the land now, Delaware County is placing itself earlier in that process.
Rather than responding parcel by parcel to private proposals, the county now has a larger canvas in a highly visible location. That gives officials time to think through infrastructure, access, zoning expectations, design standards, and possible future users before the pressure of a specific project drives the conversation.
From Planning Document To Real Estate
The purchase also reflects the county’s 2023 Economic Development Strategic Plan, which called for a more deliberate approach to site readiness and corridor planning.
That plan identified key areas where Delaware County could focus economic development efforts instead of scattering attention across smaller, disconnected sites. The Route 42 and Sawmill Parkway area is one of those places. Smith said the county’s goal is to prevent the land from being developed in a fragmented way.
“Rather than allowing this property to be developed in a piecemeal manner, the County can comprehensively position it for opportunities that create quality jobs, grow our commercial tax base, and reduce the burden on our schools,” Smith said. “This area was one of several identified in the County’s strategic plan to focus its efforts.”
That last point is central. Commercial and employment growth can help diversify the county’s tax base, especially in a county where residential growth continues to place pressure on schools, roads, utilities, and public services.
Guided Growth, Not Guesswork
Commissioner Jeff Benton, president of this year’s Board of Commissioners, framed the purchase as part of a broader economic development strategy.
The guided growth enabled by the acquisition, Benton said, “is a critical part of our long-term strategy to diversify the County’s economic base and attract new businesses and jobs.”
That does not mean the county has announced a specific end user for the property. It means the county has decided the land is important enough not to leave entirely to market timing and private fragmentation. A tract of nearly 141 acres can support uses that smaller parcels often cannot. Depending on future planning and market interest, the site could be positioned for an employment campus, light industrial or flex space, commercial services, hospitality, or other job-creating development tied to the surrounding corridor.
The common thread is scale. Larger economic development projects typically need land that is contiguous, accessible, and supported by infrastructure. They also require enough predictability for site selectors, employers, and developers to understand what can be built and how quickly it can move.
Protecting Past Investments
Smith’s reference to infrastructure investments is important. Delaware County has spent years preparing corridors like this one for growth. Roads, utilities, planning work, and related public investments are not made in isolation. They shape where development becomes possible and where private interest eventually concentrates.
The risk, from the county’s point of view, is that publicly supported infrastructure can increase land value while leaving the public with little control over what comes next. Without coordinated site control, a major intersection can fill in gradually with disconnected projects that may generate activity but not necessarily the kind of employment, tax base, or long-term pattern the county wants.
This acquisition gives the county more leverage over that outcome. It also gives officials a stronger negotiating position as they work with regional economic development partners, utilities, future developers, and potential employers.
A Corridor To Watch
The purchase creates a clear focal point for the next phase of Delaware County growth. Questions will now turn to how the county markets the land, what infrastructure packages are assembled around it, whether regional partners become involved in recruitment, and what types of commercial or employment uses ultimately fit the site.
It will also be worth watching how this public acquisition interacts with the activity already underway across the road. The Ohio AAA Blue Jackets facility and Maridel project are drawing attention to the same area for recreation, entertainment, and mixed-use development. The county’s new landholding adds an economic development layer to that emerging district. Together, those pieces suggest that the Route 42 and Sawmill Parkway intersection is becoming more than a busy crossroads. It is becoming a planned growth node.
Buying Time, Buying Control
In a fast-growing region, land decisions often define the future before the public fully realizes what is happening. Delaware County’s purchase of nearly 141 acres is a way of buying time as much as buying land. It gives the county room to coordinate. It gives officials a chance to set expectations before proposals arrive. It gives the public sector a stronger hand in determining whether growth along this corridor becomes scattered and reactive or organized around a larger economic purpose.
Source, Map: Delaware County; Image by Else Siegel from Pixabay
