ALLEN TWP., Pa. – The Allen Township Board of Supervisors in Northampton County approved amended preliminary/final land development plans to convert a warehouse into a data center Tuesday night at the municipal building. The vote was unanimous.
Prologis Lehigh Valley East 16 is a 1 million-square-foot warehouse located at 2500 Liberty Drive, with Howertown Road to the east and a quarry lake to the south near Nor Bath Boulevard. Plans for the warehouse were originally granted approval in 2016. The building was completed seven years later, in 2023. The building has 40-foot clear height and contains 120 docks, 211 trailer parking spaces and 366 car parking spaces.
However, the company sought approval to utilize the space to accommodate the burgeoning data center demand. In his opening statement, Joseph Fitzpatrick, an attorney representing Prologis, said the company was not employing “sleight of hand” in seeking to utilize the space for a data center. Fitzpatrick added that every time someone streams a movie or uses online banking, they are using data, which requires space. This demand, the attorney stated, is not going to subside “in our lifetimes.”
Prologis officials told supervisors Tuesday night there were advantages to allowing the company to utilize the facility as a data center instead of a warehouse. The warehouse was approved to accommodate up to 900 vehicles per day. Under the data center plan, that number would drop to less than 100. There would be reduced impervious surface coverage, they said, and no expansion of the building’s footprint would occur.
Prologis presented its argument for why the location is suitable for a data center.
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The company has a privately funded electrical infrastructure to accommodate the data center and owns a private substation. The facility will utilize a closed loop system for cooling the building. A closed loop system manages heat by circulating chilled air or liquid directly to equipment. This minimizes energy waste and improves cooling efficiency, officials said. Prologis will also have backup generators which will not be visible from Route 329.
The facility will have between 100 and 120 employees and will have demand for skilled labor to service the operation.
Residents who spoke during public comment held different opinions. Christopher Lee predicted rising electricity fees for Allen Township residents.
“It’s going to jack up costs,” he said.
He also lamented noise pollution and added that “almost no jobs” would be created.
Allen Township Board of Supervisors.
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Supervisor Gary Behler said the location is “one of the best areas to allow” data centers in Allen Township. He added that the township is subject to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, which requires every township to provide somewhere in the municipality for data centers.
The company agreed to utilize solar panels and complete pre- and post-noise studies.