A controversial 1.6M-square-foot data center in Chesco could shrink after fierce pushback: ‘This is not an act of goodwill’
The developers said they're responding to public feedback over the project. The supervisors could vote on the amended plan on April 21.
The developers of a proposed 1.6 million-square-foot data center in East Whiteland said it will shrink the controversial project’s footprint significantly, but it requires “certainty” that the township’s elected officials will greenlight the amended plan soon, or it will build a previously approved — and significantly larger — version.
“If this approval process is delayed or further appeals are filed, or if the current appeal is not withdrawn, we will simply have no choice but to continue building the current plan,” said Josh Rabina, the CEO of Sentinel Data Centers, one of the site’s developers. “We’ve been accused of bluffing. This is not bluffing. The approved plan is less desirable for us and for our customers, is less elegant and less efficient of a design, but it’s functional, it’s profitable, it’s vested, and it gives us certainty.”
The newest proposal, spanning 887,000 square feet across two buildings, was unveiled before the township’s board of supervisors during their Tuesday meeting. It was the supervisors’ first meeting to consider an amended plan for the data center off Swedesford Road, situated on a Superfund site that borders West Whiteland Township and pushback from residents was fierce during a public comment period that lasted roughly an hour. The proposed data center would rise not far from Malvern Hunt, a residential community, and intersect with the popular Chester Valley Trail.
The three-person elected board did not vote on the plans Tuesday. They are expected to meet again this upcoming Tuesday in West Chester for approval or denial of the revised project.
It’s another twist in the ongoing saga in the township, with the developers saying the proposed downsizing would address concerns about health and environmental impacts.
Opponents have shown up to meetings in such large numbers that they’ve exceeded room occupancy and forced a shut down. They’ve acquired signatures on petitions. They’ve pursued lawyers to fight on their behalf. Their vehemence resulted in a tepid approval from the township’s planning commission, and ultimately led the board of supervisors to consider amending the zoning changes that allowed the data center to be approved in the first place. Tuesday’s proposal hasn’t been reviewed by the planning commission.
On Tuesday, residents filled the auditorium at Penn State Great Valley in matching “Save East Whiteland” T-shirts.
The data center project dates back to 2018 and initially was approved by the zoning hearing board and planning commission as a development spanning about 1 million square feet, on a Superfund site, where Foote Mineral once resided. (The federal government has to sign off on development on the contaminated site, and vet that it has been appropriately remediated.)
In recent months, the developers have returned to the township, requesting they approve an amended plan that would increase the footprint of the project by 600,000 square feet — a 60% increase in size. The new plan came with redesigned cooling equipment, relocated backup generators, a new building layout, and the elimination of microwave towers, antenna yards, and cooling towers.
Developers said the modifications came as technology evolved and improved, and would result in a more efficient data center. But the planning commission stopped short of fully recommending this larger-scale plan last month, and punted it to the supervisors.
Rabina said the newest iteration of the data center was a “complete re-engineering of the project to accommodate what we believe to be the primary concern.”
The plan rolled out Tuesday is 86% smaller than the last design reviewed and 74% smaller than the previously approved plan. The newer buildings would be 15 to 25 feet shorter.
“This is a project that could not conceivably have a lower impact, we believe, to this community,” Rabina said.
Residents were not swayed. During public comment, they again asked the township to deny the application.
Donovan Messer, one resident, believed the smaller footprint was “more workable” if something had to be built.
“Respectfully, I do not care about your customers, bottom line, or deadlines. I care about my fellow residents of this township. While I personally believe that this one-story plan is the least of the evils, this is not an act of goodwill,” he told the developers. “It’s a poor attempt in acting like you care about township.”
Andrew Schneider, an attorney who lives in Malvern Hunt who filed a land use appeal, argued during a presentation to township leadership that they would be erring by approving the plan.
“When a developer comes into East Whiteland Township looking to develop a massive project while giving less than candid answers in the planning process, what kind of candor can you expect once they have their roots in our soil?” he said. “We, the people in this audience, are your friends and neighbors. Stand with us, and if they threaten you or otherwise bully you, we will have your back.”
Supervisors haven’t signaled how they’ll respond ahead of a vote next week.
“What is in front of the board of supervisors tonight is not a ’yes’ or ‘no’ decision,” said supervisor Peter Fixler in his opening comments. “It’s the decision on which data center plan we would like to see built, because a data center will be built on the site.”
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