SPRINGDALE, Pa. — A proposal to build a nearly 700,000-square-foot data center in Springdale Borough is drawing backlash from residents who say the project could increase power costs and impact property values.
A handful of protestors gathered on Monday morning to push back on the proposal.
“We are looking to fight the data center, the hyper-scale data center that they plan on voting on here,” resident Matt Lang said. “The data center uses so much electricity and I’m genuinely worried for the power grid.”
Borough manager Terry Carcella says the project could bring major benefits — an estimated 80-100 jobs and a more than 50% boost in tax revenue. Carcella said the additional revenue is needed to maintain essential services.
“It’s needed as far as doing our roads, replacing our water lines, just maintaining the basic services for police, fire, and public works,” Carcella said.
Carcella says the borough’s responsibility is to keep the health and wellness of residents top of mind.
“With all this potential, we want to make sure it’s done correctly. My job as zoning officer is to make sure things are done according to the law to make sure everyone has a fair shake.”
Protestors say that while the data center could generate money, there could be added costs to residents and health concerns from the center.
“It’s a lot of money,” Lang said. “But if we’re constantly having power outages, paying more in electricity bills, and our property values go down — I can’t see that out, weighing all of that.”
The proposal is now before the borough’s planning commission, which is scheduled to meet again on Nov. 17.
Protesters say they plan to continue speaking out and encouraging neighbors to attend upcoming council meetings.
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