According to DCD, Archbald I LLC filed zoning applications on October 22 to build two massive data center campuses in Archbald, Pennsylvania. The larger campus would feature 18 buildings on 410 acres north of Staback Park, while a smaller 66-acre campus near the Archbald/Jermyn border would host four more buildings. Each of the 22 buildings would be around 150,000 square feet, creating a staggering 3.3 million square feet of new data center space. This comes just as the borough council failed to pass new data center regulations after local opposition. If approved, these projects would join several other proposed developments that could bring nearly 4.73 million square feet of data center space to Eynon Jermyn Road alone.
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<h2 id="pennsylvania-data-center-gold-rush”>The Pennsylvania Data Center Gold Rush
So what’s driving this massive construction boom in a region not traditionally known as a tech hub? Basically, we’re seeing the spillover effect from Northern Virginia’s data center saturation. Power availability, land costs, and tax incentives are making northeast Pennsylvania increasingly attractive for hyperscale development. And companies are betting big – we’re talking about transforming entire landscapes here.
Here’s the thing that’s really interesting: nobody knows who’s behind Archbald I LLC. That’s pretty common in these massive infrastructure plays, but it suggests this isn’t some small local operation. The scale – 3.3 million square feet – points toward one of the usual suspects: Amazon, Google, Microsoft, or maybe a major colocation provider building for multiple cloud clients. The timing is everything too – this application came right after the borough failed to pass stricter regulations.
Local Impact and Resistance
Now let’s talk about what this means for Archbald. We’re looking at potentially 29 data center buildings just on one road if all proposed projects move forward. That’s an incredible transformation for a borough with a population under 7,000 people. The power demands alone would be massive, not to mention the water usage for cooling and the traffic during construction.
But here’s where it gets complicated – many locals actually spoke out against further restrictions during that October meeting. Why would residents oppose tighter regulations? Probably because data centers bring significant tax revenue without the residential services burden that housing developments require. They’re essentially cash cows for municipal budgets, even if they do change the character of a community.
Northeast Pennsylvania Becoming Data Center Country
Looking at the bigger picture, this isn’t just about Archbald anymore. Lackawanna County already has eight proposed data center campuses across multiple municipalities. We’re seeing a pattern where developers identify regions with the right infrastructure mix and then rapidly acquire options on multiple sites. It’s like they’re playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers.
The real question is whether the local infrastructure can handle this scale of development. Power grids, water systems, road networks – these were designed for a different era. But the economic incentives are so compelling that municipalities often find themselves playing catch-up. As The Scranton Times-Tribune reported, this region is quickly becoming a major player in the data center world, whether residents are ready or not.
