I often receive calls from out-of-state buyers who have been using my web site or this blog for early information as they are considering their move to central Ohio. Usually they ask the typical questions about the differences in suburbs such as Powell, Dublin, Worthington AND Lewis Center.
It’s easy to tell them about the first three burbs as they are actual cities with downtown areas, landmarks, golf communities AND “personalities”. They are destination places, even if one doesn’t live there, to go to employers, places of worship, sports or rec centers, and special community events.
Describing Lewis Center is much harder. Prior to the explosion of development in southern Delaware County, Lewis Center was a few homes next to a railroad crossing and a post office in one of the buildings. Because most of the land in the southeast quadrant of the county was farmland, the post office serviced a large rural AREA in Orange Township with a zip code of 43035.
Orange Township (and the zip code) is, for the most part, bounded by Rt 23 on the west, Powell Rd on the south, Peachblow Rd to the north, and Alum Creek and Alum Creek Reservoir to the east. Except for some strip shopping centers and commercial buildings along Rt 23 between Powell and Orange Rds, the area is now only made up of housing developments. There is no “downtown” area. A golf course is currently being built off Old State Rd, north of Powell Rd, which will provide a source of recreation. (Alum Creek Reservoir is outside the zip code).
The Orange Township trustees recognize this “lack of identity” and were working with developers to create a “downtown” community off Rt 23, north of Orange Rd. However, some of the key developers tabled their plans when the current housing market shifted. So for now, Lewis Center remains a 
“bedroom area” that people go home to at the end of their work day.
Currently, the majority of the housing developments are located off Old State Rd, which runs north-south in the middle of the township. Home prices range from the low $200’s to high $300’s for the most part. Of course, there are exceptions. You can check actual subdivision average prices by visiting the “SUBDIVISION HOME PRICES“ page on this blog (tab is above).
Lewis Center is served by the Olentangy School District. I have the average prices by school district recorded on my web site with “east of Rt 23″ representing the Lewis Center area but it also includes data for the portion of Galena that is in that section of the school district.
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Elaine Reese
614-825-8860Real Living HER
2 responses so far ↓
Thesa Chambers | Broker | Sunriver Realty // October 18, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I love how you explain the area - even though I have never been to Ohio I feel like I have a good feeling for this area.
elainereese // October 18, 2007 at 1:22 pm
You’ll have to come here for a visit sometime. Based on some business trips I made to your state, central Ohio probably most resembles your area around Bend and the Willamette Valley.
BTW, on my visits to OR, I was amazed at how varied your terrain was. It was like moving through four different states - your coastline, the Cascade Mts, Willamette Valley and the Madras area.