West of East of Africa
Starkey’s Moving Out
Movers started packing the belongings of John and Joyce Starkey this week as they prepared to leave their home of 40 years on Africa Road. The family closed on their new home in Sunbury on Wednesday after the city purchased their property to extend Westar Boulevard to Africa Road. This extension will connect Westar Blvd. with roads and developments related to the 88-acre East of Africa project directly across the street.
Joyce Starkey lamented having someone else touch their belongings, saying they did it themselves the last time they moved, without using a moving company. The city agreed to move their belongings without expense as part of the contract to buy the property.
The family has cherished their once-rural lifestyle. They are now surrounded by development to the west and more planned development to the east.
When they first moved into the home, Joyce said Africa Road was a narrow dirt road with little traffic, surrounded by farms with a large barn across the street. Africa Road is now a paved road with three lanes, curbs, and gutters. The barn and all but one farmer is gone. The adjacent Yarnell Farm fields are leased to farmers growing soybeans or corn.
Where the view from her kitchen window once looked over farms extending to Alum Creek in the west, she now sees the dead end of Westar Blvd, which will soon be extended through her property.
"Losing the home will be difficult, given all the memories," she said during an earlier conversation. “If they build the road, it will come right through my kitchen.”
The Starkeys must leave their home by May 15, when the city will demolish their house and barn. They say they will be in their newly built Pulte home in Sunbury as soon as the movers are finished.
Sharp House Outbuildings
The two outbuildings at the historic Sharp House on Africa Road were demolished to make way for a new roadway connecting Westar to East of Africa, the city’s 88-acre development project. The buildings, outside the one-acre property with the house, were old but with little historical significance, and stood in the path of the new road.
The Sharp House, of great historical significance and on the National Register of Historic Places for its involvement in the Underground Railroad, has been set aside, protected from the development project by the city. The one-acre plot containing the house is not listed as part of the most recent property for sale.
The Delaware County Auditor’s site lists the property as owned by the Westerville Industry and Commerce Corporation (WICC) and valued at $240,000. The recent listing for the surrounding development is asking $250,000 per acre. WICC is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that acts as an official agent of the City of Westerville. WICC's primary purpose is economic development in Westerville by administering programs, purchasing and owning property, and implementing the city's economic development strategy.
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