A New York City-based data center and warehouse developer transferred a 44-plus-acre lot in the Valley View Business Park to an affiliated company for $4 million this week.

The developer, PNK Group, intends to announce details on its plans for two data centers in Archbald next month with an open house at one of its warehouses in Jessup.

PNK P1 LLC sold the 44.47-acre lot 30 in the Archbald portion of the Valley View Business Park to DC VV1 LLC, a Delaware company with the same New York City office address as PNK P1 and PNK Group, according to a property transaction recorded Wednesday and a corporate registration filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State.

PNK Group previously developed two warehouses in the Jessup portion of the business park and plans to apply with Archbald to develop two data centers. The developer owns about 125 contiguous, undeveloped acres on the southeast side of Archbald Heights Road, in addition to its 255,776-square-foot warehouse on Valley View Drive and its 162,907-square-foot warehouse on Alberigi Drive. PNK also purchased land in Moosic in July for a 460,000-square-foot warehouse on Davis Street.

In a texted statement Friday, PNK Group Chief Development Officer Anton Voronkin said the transfer was an internal transaction between PNK-affiliated entities. PNK Group is continuing to develop plans for two data centers and ancillary structures on the Archbald property, and they expect to share details publicly in December, he said.

“We understand residents will have questions about the proposal and what it could mean for the community,” Voronkin said. “We plan to host an open house at one of our industrial buildings in nearby Jessup to share the proposed plans, answer questions and hear residents’ concerns and suggestions. We will announce the date and location once confirmed.”

Zoning background

PNK Group’s proposed data center property falls into one of Archbald’s data center overlays that conditionally allows the developments. The overlay is atop industrially zoned land.

Archbald is currently working to further rein in its data center zoning regulations with a new amendment and accompanying map. While the new zoning map would remove other overlay districts, it would still conditionally allow data centers in at least a portion of the Valley View Business Park, including PNK’s property. Residents and Archbald Planning Commission members discussed last month whether Archbald should conditionally allow data centers in both the general industrial and light industrial districts in the Valley View Business Park, or just the more intensive general industrial district. PNK Group’s property falls into the latter.

Residents have largely advocated for Archbald to limit data centers to industrially zoned land east of the Casey Highway and away from homes.

When PNK Group submits a conditional use application for its data centers, Archbald will hold a series of public hearings on the project. The hearings will require the developer to present witnesses and evidence proving it will comply with the borough’s data center zoning regulations. Residents and their attorneys will be able to request party status, allowing them to cross-examine the developer’s witnesses and later present their own evidence.

Council will then vote to approve or deny the application.

Archbald so far has 51 proposed data centers across six projects, plus a 400-megawatt natural gas power plant. PNK Group’s application will raise the total to 53.

Council has so far denied 32 data centers across its two largest proposed campuses: Project Scott’s plans for 18 data centers between Eynon Jermyn Road and Business Route 6, and Wildcat Ridge’s proposal for 14 data centers above Business Route 6 and extending up Route 247, or Wildcat Road. Archbald’s denial of Project Scott was to avoid an automatic approval due to timing issues; the denial is being litigated in court.

Proving a project will not negatively affect the health, safety and welfare of residents has so far played a central role in other data center-related hearings in Archbald. The requirement was foundational in council’s unanimous denial last month of Wildcat Ridge’s conditional use application to build a data center campus across 574.2 mountainside acres above Archbald’s Eynon and Sturges section. Council’s denial will face an appeal in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.

PNK’s Midvalley portfolio

PNK Group began to build its local portfolio in early 2024.

PNK P1 bought its first property in Lackawanna County — the same property it transferred to DC VV1 LLC  — in February 2024 from the Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Company, or SLIBCO, for $3.3 million, according to a property transaction recorded Feb. 8, 2024. SLIBCO is the industrial development arm of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. SLIBCO developed the Valley View Business Park in 2003, expanding it in 2007.

PNK P1 then acquired two more lots totaling about 44 acres in the Jessup portion of the business park for just shy of $4 million, according to a property transaction recorded Feb. 13, 2024. Those lots are now PNK Group’s two Jessup warehouses.

DC VV LLC, using the same address as PNK Group, purchased an additional 80.81 acres from SLIBCO in August for close to $16.2 million, according to a property transaction recorded Aug. 19.

DC VV and DC VV1 now own about 125 acres along Archbald Heights Road, extending near the Jessup border.

PNK Group’s companies use either the address 17 State St., Suite 3930, New York City, or 17 State St., 39th floor, New York City. DC VV and DC VV1 provide the same addresses for their principal office, according to corporate registrations filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State on July 30 and Aug. 31.

Crossing over into Jessup along Archbald Heights Road and Lakeview Drive, Maryland-based DBT-Data proposes to build a 30-foot-tall, 200,000-square-foot data center at the former TMG Health site in the business park. Jessup Borough Council will hold its first conditional use hearing on DBT’s data center, operating as DBT-Data Lackawanna One LLC, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Valley View High School auditorium, 1 Columbus Drive, Archbald, according to a public notice published Thursday in The Times-Tribune.