ARCHBALD — The fight against the controversial Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus is now in residents’ hands.
Representatives of Brooklyn-based Cornell Realty Management LLC concluded their case Monday night after five hearings and more than a dozen hours of testimony and cross examination. They seek conditional approval from Archbald Borough Council to build 14 data centers across 574.2 mountainside acres above Business Route 6.
At least 500 residents and local officials filled the Valley View High School auditorium for the 2½-hour conditional use hearing. The charged crowd, many of whom wore yellow-and-black T-shirts, erupted into applause and jeers throughout the night, reacting to additional testimony on the data center campus’s traffic and sound.
Valley View School District continued its opposition to data centers. Solicitor Kyle Callejas of Joyce, Carmody & Moran PC requested and obtained party status at the start of the hearing, giving the district legal standing to challenge Wildcat Ridge.
“We feel we have unique concerns, independent of the concerns held by the residents,” Callejas said.
Council did not reach a decision Monday, instead scheduling its next hearing for July 6 at 5 p.m. Attorney Justin Richards, who represents residents opposing data centers in the borough, will then present his own case about why the project should be denied.
Although council previously took early public comment at its May hearing, Monday’s hearing concluded without time for testimony from residents, despite a long list of speakers signing up to address council, including Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti.
Wildcat Ridge attorney Edmund Campbell guided testimony clarifying the certification of equipment used to measure decibel levels in the vicinity of the campus. Additional testimony from a traffic engineer clarifying remarks from a different engineer at a previous meeting followed.
Attendees listen during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
An attendee holds a sign reading “DENY” during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Archbald borough officials listen during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Councilwoman Erin Owen asks Attorney Edmund Campbell a question during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Lackawanna County Controller Gary DiBileo, left, attend a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Tamara Misewicz-Healey, co-founder of “Stop Archbald Data Centers”, speaks during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Traffic engineer Frank Tavani, center, listens as Attorney Justin Richards, foreground, questions him during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Attorney Edmund Campbell, right, discusses the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus with Archbald borough officials during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Archbald borough officials discuss the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
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Attendees listen during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
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