‘Silicon Heartland’ boon for Ohio, but families mourn homes

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS and PATRICK ORSAGOS
Associated Press

JOHNSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Ohio families that have called rural land home for generations are lamenting the loss of their property to a massive development project. The property in central Ohio sits on a 1,000-acre site destined to become an Intel Corp. semi-conductor manufacturing center. The $20 billion project announced in January is the state’s largest-ever private sector development and will create upwards of 3,000 full-time jobs when it opens in three years. Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger has dubbed the development “Silicon Heartland.” All families have been bought out and none ejected from their land against their wishes, but many objected to President Biden’s characterization of the property as empty.