An Eastern Pennsylvania developer wants to build a 1-gigawatt, 3.7 million-square-foot data center campus and natural gas plant in rural Elizabeth Township at a former landfill site, according to email records between the developer and municipal officials.
The development, located at a 549-acre parcel on Henderson Road near the Youghiogheny River, would include anywhere from 11 to 28 two-story data center buildings powered by a combined cycle generator, according to multiple potential scenarios presented over the summer. Tim Hendricks, a resident of New Hope in Bucks County, wants to develop the site through his company Hendricks Group Developers, LLC, according to records obtained through a Pittsburgh’s Public Source Right-to-Know request.
On Sept. 15, township commission President Josh Walls announced at a commission meeting that Elizabeth had been approached about a data center project. The township is hosting a town hall meeting on Oct. 13 to discuss the center.
The data center and power plant would dwarf a planned site in Springdale Borough opposed by some local residents.
The site would produce its own power with the on-site power plant and utilize a “closed loop” system that would “use less water than a residential community on the same site would use,” according to Hendricks’ emails with municipal officials. The site could generate $125 million in tax revenue for the municipality and Elizabeth Forward School District, according to Hendricks’ emails. The emails did not say how many years it would take to accrue that revenue.
Walls said during an interview Monday that he could not comment on the revenue figures because they were not prepared by the township or local taxing bodies. Walls also stressed that the development is still in the discussion phase.
“I don’t believe it is my job as an elected official to necessarily use my own opinion on whether I support or don’t support something,” Walls said, adding that he needed to hear from constituents at the October town hall.
“We don’t want it. These kinds of proposals, these kinds of projects to this scale, do not belong in Elizabeth Township.”
Scott Taylor, Elizabeth Township Resident & PET President
The site is currently owned by Buena Vista Solar, which purchased the property in 2022 for $1, and is locally known as the “Fiore Property.” A former U.S. Steel landfill site, it was once considered as a potential location for a now-cancelled power plant site. Hendricks said in an email that around 220 acres of the site are “not contaminated.”
In a June 22 email, Hendricks said he entered into an agreement to purchase the property. Hendricks entered a similar agreement to purchase 705 acres in Penn Forest for a planned data center development there.
Hendricks was not immediately available for an interview when contacted by Public Thursday and Monday.
Protect Elizabeth Township (PET), a local environmental group that has led opposition to a six-well natural gas project in the township, was originally formed to oppose the power plant intended for the site. Scott Taylor, the group’s president and a township resident, said that while he understands the need for municipal tax revenue, he opposes the project because it’s an “industrial facility going into a residential neighborhood.”
“We don’t want it,” said PET President Scott Taylor, a township resident. “These kinds of proposals, these kinds of projects to this scale, do not belong in Elizabeth Township.”
Data center developments across the country have encountered pushback from local residents concerned about noise and their water and electricity usage. Allegheny County Council unanimously voted to ban large data centers on county-owned property last month as municipalities contemplate or implement data center construction moratoriums.
“As a resident of Mt. Vernon and native of Buena Vista, I am concerned about the possibility of noise, utility rate hikes and environmental impacts,” Rep. Andrew Kuzma, R-Elizabeth Township, said in a statement. “While I will be attending the town hall meeting with an open mind, my position will ultimately be the same as my neighbors and the majority of township residents, as I am their representative.”
Hendricks has not formally submitted plans or building permits for the site, according to Kuzma.
Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order this summer requiring data centers to follow stricter environmental and transparency standards. Under the order, developers have to pledge to abide by certain clean energy and job creation requirements.
Hendricks created Hendricks Group Developers, LLC in 2020, according to Department of State records. The company has previously concentrated in real estate development.
The site proposal went through revisions, including moving some of the data buildings away from Rolling Hills Village, a community of manufactured homes near the proposed site.
“Our goal is to make sure we have a thorough understanding so we can make informed decisions that are in the best interest of Elizabeth Township and our residents,” Township Manager Tammy Firda said in an email to Hendricks.
In his emails, Hendricks pointed to Project Atlas, a 410-acre data center site in South Whitehall in Lehigh County, as “a good example of how to educate a community about a data center proposal.” The project has seen significant community pushback.
Lucas Dufalla is the Southern Communities Reporter at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at lucas@publicsource.org.
MOST READ STORIES
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
