Crews Clear Utilities at Former Starkey Home Ahead of Demolition. Westerville Symphony Photo Gallery.
A year after the Westerville City Council approved purchasing the Starkey family’s Africa Road property to make way for the extension of Westar Boulevard, city crews have begun the final steps of clearing the site.
This week, Westerville Electric Division workers removed utility lines, transformers, and poles surrounding the home. Using bucket trucks and cranes, crews dismantled overhead lines, lifted equipment from poles, and hauled away coiled cables. The work ensures the property is safe for the Westerville Fire Division, which plans to use the house for training exercises in early September, before demolition.
The Starkeys, John and Joyce, lived in the home for more than 40 years. When announcing the sale last fall, Joyce reflected on the difficulty of leaving behind decades of memories in what had once been a rural setting. “If they build the road, it will come right through my kitchen,” she said at the time.
The $710,000 purchase was part of a broader plan to extend Westar Boulevard across Africa Road, linking the city’s 88-acre property—purchased in 2023—to Polaris Parkway. The extension will eventually connect the east and west sides of Westerville’s busiest development corridor.
For now, the Starkey home’s last chapter will serve the city’s fire crews, who will gain valuable training experience inside the structure before it is removed to make way for the new roadway.
Westar Boulevard Extension Timeline
2023 — City of Westerville purchases 88 acres east of Africa Road to prepare for roadway extension.
July 2024 — City Council passes legislation to negotiate with the Starkeys in the roadway’s path.
September 2024 — Council approves $710,000 purchase of John and Joyce Starkey’s 1.5-acre property on Africa Road.
Summer 2025 — Westerville Electric Division removes utility lines, transformers, and poles from the Starkey property.
September 2025 — Westerville Fire Division schedules training exercises inside the Starkey home before demolition.
Future — Westar Boulevard will extend across Africa Road, connecting through the city’s 88-acre tract to Polaris Parkway between Africa Road and North State Street.
$18,000 For One Performance
Lori Kay Harvey, with the Otterbein University Music Theater, raised the most money of the four contestants and was allowed to conduct the Westerville Symphony’s performance of Stars and Stripes Forever at the final 2025 Sunday Concert Series show at the amphitheater at Alum Creek Park on East Main Street.
The total raised from contributors to their favorite of four possible conductors was more than $18,000 to benefit the symphony.
The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.
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