A controversial 1.6M-square-foot data center in Chesco could shrink after fierce pushback: ‘This is not an act of goodwill’

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“If this approval process is delayed or further appeals are filed, or if the current appeal is not withdrawn, we will simply have no choice but to continue building the current plan,” said Josh Rabina, the CEO of Sentinel Data Centers, one of the site’s developers.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 board of supervisors during their Tuesday meeting. It was the supervisors’ first meeting to consider an amended plan for a data center off Swedesford Road, situated on a Superfund site that borders West Whiteland Township, which was met with fierce pushback from residents during a public comment period that lasted roughly an hour. Tuesday’s proposal hasn’t been reviewed by the township’s planning commission.

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 was in response to public outcry over the development.

Opponents, who are concerned by health and environmental impacts of the data center, 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.

On Tuesday, residents filled the auditorium at Penn State Great Valley in matching “Save East Whiteland” T-shirts.

Starting back in 2018, and up until 2024, the developers secured approvals from the zoning hearing board and planning commission for a data center that would span about 1 million square feet and sit not far from Malvern Hunt, a residential community, and intersect with the popular Chester Valley Trail.

The data center is proposed for 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 to 1.6 million square feet. The new plan came with redesigned cooling equipment, relocated back-up generators, a new building layout, and the elimination of microwave towers, antenna yards, and cooling towers.

Developers have said these modifications came as technology around such sites has evolved and improved, and these updates were to make a more efficient data center. The planning commission stopped short of fully recommending this larger-scale plan last month, but punted it to the supervisors.

This week, the developers rolled out an even newer option, addressing complaints about the size of the data center. Rabina said the newest iteration of the data center was a “complete reengineering of the project to accommodate what we believe to be the primary concern.”

The current pending proposal is roughly 86% larger than the newest iteration, and the previously approved plan — which the developer said they’d move ahead with failing township approval — is about 74% larger. 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 easily 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.”

Inquirer Chester County

Want to get Inquirer Chester County straight to your inbox every week? Sign up here for our guide to the news, stories, and events shaping life in your community.