Controversial AI data center proposal has been resurrected outside Conshohocken

A Main Line developer’s plan for a 2 million-square-foot AI data center outside Conshohocken has been resubmitted for consideration.

The move comes six months after a similar plan from the same developer was stymied due to legal issues, and as some residents continue to rally in opposition to the proposal.

The developer, Brian O’Neill, who has invested heavily in Conshohocken over the years, wants to build a data center on the site of the shuttered Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill at 900 Conshohocken Rd. The plant, which sat on 66 acres along the Schuylkill, closed last summer, laying off more than 100 workers.

The site in Plymouth Township is located less than a mile from downtown Conshohocken, near the Proving Grounds sports complex, Tee’s Golf Center, and dozens of homes in the township’s Connaughtown section.

While O’Neill’s team has not disclosed who would operate the data center, they have indicated that the tenant is related to the life sciences.

Some large data centers contain the technology that powers ChatGPT queries and other power-hungry artificial-intelligence tools. They are being constructed across the country as Big Tech companies attempt to meet surging demand.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle — from President Donald Trump, a Republican, to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat — have pushed to streamline data-center construction. Meanwhile, the facilities have received bipartisan pushback from residents. Last week, a New York Times headline called it “the most bipartisan issue since beer.”

» READ MORE: Human reporters explain why AI data centers are so controversial in the Philly suburbs and beyond

More than 150 data centers already exist in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to Data Center Map, a private company that tracks the facilities nationwide. Not all of those facilities power AI tools.

In the Philadelphia region, Amazon is building a 2 million-square-foot “digital infrastructure campus” in Falls Township, Bucks County, and a French company called DataOne is constructing a 2.4-million-square-foot data center in Vineland. The South Jersey facility will fuel Microsoft’s AI tools, according to the developer.

In Chester County, data centers have been proposed for the former Pennhurst State School and Hospital in East Vincent Township, and for a remediated Superfund site in East Whiteland Township. A center is also on the table in Limerick Township, Montgomery County.

As for the Conshohocken-area proposal, more than 1,200 people have signed an online petition urging township officials not to sign off on the project. Opponents have expressed concerns about light, noise, and air pollution; water usage; and electricity costs.

Hundreds of residents packed a November zoning hearing board meeting, at which the developer was ultimately forced to withdraw his application due to a question over legal standing.

After the meeting, Nick Liermann, an attorney who lives in a neighborhood near the former steel mill, called it “the smallest of small wins” for opponents of the project.

“But,” he added, “we will be back in this room in a few months.”

» READ MORE: Conshohocken-area AI data center proposal abruptly withdrawn over legal issues

The developers have once again applied for a special zoning exception that would allow the data center to be built in the area, which is zoned for heavy industrial use, according to a statement from Plymouth Township officials.

In the fall, O’Neill’s team argued that a data center should be permitted in the zone due its to similarity to a warehouse and laboratory, both permitted uses under township code. They have also said the facility benefit the area financially.

The township’s zoning hearing board is tasked with determining whether a data center meets the zoning ordinance’s standards, including through a public hearing that must be scheduled within 60 days. At this hearing, residents will be able to share their thoughts on the project.

“Township officials recognize the strong public interest in this proposal,” they wrote. “Township Council remains focused on protecting the health, safety, and welfare of residents while carefully evaluating the application.”

If the zoning board were to approve the application, officials said it would then have to proceed through the land development process, which includes more review, public meetings, and approvals.