Massive Upper Merion Data Center Cluster: 1st Public Hearing Is Wednesday

UPPER MERION, PA — The first public hearing on the controversial proposal to build a massive cluster of eight data centers in Upper Merion Township will be held on Wednesday night.

It comes amid coordinated and bipartisan opposition from community groups, local and state officials, and others who are sounding the alarm over the social and environmental consequences of the more than four million square foot development.

The meeting will be held at Freedom Hall on 175 W. Valley Forge Road at 7 p.m. Opponents of the plan urge community attendance.

More than 7,000 signatures seeking to stop the development have been gathered in recent days.

"Whether you're concerned about data centers' impact on our collective quality of life, our public health, our environment, or our wallets as utility ratepayers, we can all agree: our communities are not fodder for ultra-wealthy developers' hasty and unregulated attempts to turn a profit at our expense," State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti said.

The biggest of the eight proposed centers is a grouping of four on 2201, 2301, 2501, 2701, and 2901 Renaissance Boulevard. Another 370,000 square foot proposal is about a quarter mile away on 3200 Horizon Drive, while a 1.6 million square foot project Innovation 511 is on 411 Swedeland Road, and a 450,000 square foot project is on 600 River Road, on the Schuylkill River about a mile and a half to the east.

The sheer size of the project is another major concern for some. "Think about that, a bigger footprint than the Philadelphia Airport," Cappelletti added.

Many leading state Republicans are also calling for a data center moratorium. State Sen. Rosemary Brown has introduced legislation that would support a pause on all construction of centers until more is known about their consequences and more can be done to better protect residents.

“As I have talked with residents and local officials, and attended community meetings and hearings, there are still too many unknowns at this time to rush forward," Brown said.

While there would seem to be bipartisan agreement, developers remain uncowed. Projects in Pennsylvania are backed by some of the world's most powerful technology companies, like Amazon, as well as Gov. Shapiro. Many have been rejected or withdrawn after vast public opposition, but proposals persist.

In Upper Merion, MLP Ventures and developer Brian O'Neill submitted their proposal days before Upper Merion Township passed their own data center ordinance, which features stricter regulations. Because the proposal came in before the ordinance, the ordinance is not beholden to those guidelines that aim to protect the environment and the community.

See also: Montco Data Center Developer Lobbies Gov. Shapiro's Office To Take Away Appeal Rights

"Pennsylvania law dictates that projects must be reviewed under the zoning regulations in effect at the same time of filing," Upper Merion Township's Board of Supervisors said in a public statement last week following the initial uproar.

The Board also cited the state's Municipalities Planning Code of 1968, stating that they are legally required to hear proposals on all land use. Though the MPC was passed long before data centers existed, it has been interpreted broadly by courts and has become a central mechanism for developers to get hearings. This happens even when large majorities of residents and elected officials are opposed.

Polls show Americans are increasingly skeptical about the beneficiaries of artificial intelligence brought by hyperscale data centers. A Gallup poll from mid-May shows 70 percent of Americans are opposed to data center construction. That mirrors a Dec. 2025 Emerson College poll indicating 70 percent of Pennsylvanians opposed data center construction.

While data centers have always existed in some form to power the Internet, and Upper Merion already has smaller data centers in operation, the massive and controversial projects of the past few years have sparked protest due to far larger resource requirements and vast social, environmental, and infrastructure consequences.