S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – The South Whitehall Township Planning Commission offered preliminary plan review of a major project Thursday night before vociferous community opposition at Springhouse Middle School.

The project, known as Project Atlas, calls for the construction of three data center buildings, one administration facility, and one warehouse building for a 1.5 million square feet total over 410 acres. Data center firm Edged is offering the project over three parcels. The parcels are located at 2493, 2747, and 2807 N. Cedar Crest Blvd.

The Atlas campus will include also site associated improvements such as internal access roads, employee parking areas, perimeter security fencing, landscaped buffers, stormwater management facilities, and a multi-use path. The campus is proposed to have 399 parking spaces.

Data center No. 1 will have 47 parking spaces to serve its operations, while data center No. 2 will have 50 parking spaces and number three will provide 50 spaces. As for the administration building, the developer has allocated 142 parking spaces, while the warehouse building will have 27 parking spaces.

Stormwater management for the campus consists of three wet detention ponds and one dry-extended detention basin. The three wet ponds will utilize spray irrigation equipment to manage the two-year, 24-hour storm and will contain aerator fountains to help prevent algae pond growth.

A new roadway is proposed running east to west through the site. This proposed roadway will start at the North Cedar Crest Boulevard and Suncrest Drive intersection and will end at the existing intersection of Mechanicsville Road and Mauch Chunk Road. The Mechanicsville Road and Mauch Chunk Road will become signalized as part of the development.

Additional infrastructure will include an onsite electrical substation and emergency generators at the data centers. The onsite electrical substation will be shielded visually from North Cedar Crest Boulevard via a 12-foot tall berm and plantings. The emergency generators will be surrounded by attenuation walls. These wall will minimize acoustic impacts on neighboring properties, according to the applicant.

The parcel is not served by public water currently, but there is an existing water main located within Ritter Road to the site’s southwest. This water main is under South Whitehall Township’s jurisdiction.

Edged presentation

Edged officials faced a daunting task: trying to convince planning commission members and a packed crowd that most of what they had heard about data centers was either partially or mostly inaccurate.

Further, Edged attempted to offer a different perspective that the data centers would improve quality of life — not diminish it — by creating good paying jobs and additional tax revenue and supporting technology expansion used by everyone in attendance Thursday night.

More than once, various Edged officials said the company pledged to pay for all power and infrastructure upgrades needed for the campus. The company is set to invest more than $8.9 billion for the project. This would result in a $99.5 million projected annual economic impact for South Whitehall Township, according to Edged officials.

Further, Atlas said it would pay $16.5 million annually in taxes. The money, they told planners and residents, could offset years of projected tax increases from the Parkland School District.

Company officials said the project is efficient and would enhance digital growth while conserving significant water amounts annually. They said the facility is designed with a closed loop system to cool the technology, like a car radiator.

The project would require 48 months of construction.

Community response

Following the company’s presentation, planning commission members offered questions. Those addressed fuel usage to power backup generators, energy uses during extreme hot and cold temperatures, and a roadway design one planner categorized as a “nightmare.”

Planners also questioned the validity of some statements made by Edged officials which they said were either embellished or incorrect.

Township officials indicated the plan has issues which would not make it a candidate for approval in this format. As such, they advised planners that they would not recommend plan approval unless their issues were addressed.

Individuals who spoke during a public comment session noted various concerns about the project specifically and data centers conceptually. Armed with power consumption, noise complaints, water usage and a generalized anxiety about what artificial intelligence is doing to their lives, person after person expressed their distaste for the project and the physical infrastructure of the AI boom in general.

Edged’s charm offensive to assuage community concerns made little if any headway Thursday night as attendees shouted and argued with them all night virtually. At one point, Edged officials attempted to show a video but faced technology challenges, rendering it unviewable. The failure drew a sustained roar of applause and derogatory shouts by some audience members.

Planners noted that there will be more opportunities for residents to speak before the commission is expected to take a vote on the proposal on Aug. 19.