Newark Advocate
Mike and Renee Sides planned to spend the rest of their lives at their Jug Street home. But when they learned last January the Intel Corporation would be their new neighbor, the couple knew it was time to go.
There’s just one problem — they can’t sell their property.
In the year since Intel announced it’s $20 billion computer chip manufacturing plant, the Sides have been stuck in limbo knowing that they don’t want to stick around to watch Intel move in by 2025. But they have been unable to get any takers for the their two-acre property near the intersection of Mink Street. Only one property — a neighbor behind them — separates the Sides from Intel’s land.
“You feel like you just pushed the pause button on life in a sense, you know, when you’re just waiting. You can’t go anywhere,” Mike said.
The high school sweethearts moved to their current residence after selling their Sadie Thomas Road home in 2014. The Jug Street ranch was a better fit for the Sides as they got older than the two-story home on 10 acres where they had lived for more than 30 years.
It also had its perks. Jug Street is close to two of their adult children who live in Croton and Alexandria. Renee said the street was calm and quiet, to the point where they could take walks down it. Mike, who retired in 2020, was still working at a business near John Glenn Columbus International Airport at the time of the move and the access to Ohio 161 made his commute easy.
“There was enough space between everybody that you felt like you had your freedom, and it was nice. You had animals you could see running all over the place and it was just a nice, quiet area,” Mike said.
Their quiet street has changed drastically since Intel executives stood on the Midland Theatre stage in Newark and officially announced the next chapter in Licking County history. Construction vehicles and increased traffic have ended walks down the street.
“You go outside and all you hear are their machines,” Renee said. “What happened to my quiet environment?”
New Albany encroaches closer
Nearly all the properties across from the Sides on the southern side of Jug Street have already been purchased and annexed into New Albany. Homes have been demolished and the land is being prepped for future development. Land north and west of the Sides has already annexed as well.
New Albany creeps closer to the Sides’ front door, one property at a time.
Last spring the Sides, along with their neighbors, placed their homes on the market. The Sides, who will celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary later this year, expected their property to sell quickly. They even started packing.
However, they didn’t get the response they anticipated.
They only had one offer from a commercial developer who was interested in neighboring ones as well, but Mike said it was on the low end and they opted not to take it.
“That was the only one that we really got and that was before really, the interest rates dropped off and started going up and then everything sort of got quiet for awhile,” he said.
Months went by without other offers and in late November, the Sides took their home off the market.
Not a day goes by without Mike and Renee discussing their situation. The list of worries is long. Renee is concerned a potential new home won’t be as close to their children and grandchildren, who they watch at least one day a week. Given how expensive homes are in central Ohio, the couple worries if they’ll receive enough money from their home’s sale to purchase a new one.
The Jug Street home was extensively renovated before they purchased it from a contractor. They fear a new home won’t be as updated.
They worry about being left behind.
Mike said, “It feels like you’re in a holding pattern waiting to land someplace, you know?”
“And you’re running out of gas,” Renee added.
They’ve considered leaving Licking County altogether to distances themselves from other developments, not just Intel.
Central Ohio’s real estate market also makes it nearly impossible for the Sides to look for a new home. They’ve tried, but properties are usually in contract within days. Without knowing when their own home will sell, they must continue to wait, unsure what their future holds.
“You hate to look and see something, ‘Oh, I really like that.’ And then you go ‘Well, what’s the point? It’ll be gone by the time we get ready to go,'” Mike said.
The “For Sale” sign returned to their yard in late January, and they hope 2023 will bring an offer from the New Albany Co., which has bought other properties west of the Sides on Jug Street. Mike and Renee continue to pack slowly knowing that someday soon they will walk out the door one final time.
