Residents will have the chance to question a data center developer in Archbald next month over plans to build half a dozen data center buildings along the Eynon Jermyn Road on land the developer recently spent nearly $22.5 million to acquire.

The state Department of Environmental Protection will hold an informational meeting on the “Project Gravity” data center campus on Jan. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Valley View High School, 1 Columbus Drive, Archbald, giving residents and interested parties an opportunity to ask the developer and DEP questions, according to a public notice published Saturday in The Times-Tribune. Archbald 25 Developer LLC proposes to build seven buildings, associated parking, a substation and access roads, according to the public notice. The state Senate Majority Policy Committee held a public hearing on data centers at the same location in August. 

The DEP is considering a water obstruction and encroachment joint permit application, which would allow the developer to fill in wetlands and waterways, and a general National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to allow for earthmoving on the site, according to the notice.

The DEP encourages anyone who plans to ask a question during the meeting to submit a written notice of intent with the question to department spokeswoman Patricia Monahan at pamonahan@pa.gov. People will be limited to one question; anyone attending will have the opportunity to ask a question, but those who preregister will be prioritized on the agenda, according to the public notice.

The snow date for the meeting will be Jan. 12.

About the project

Project Gravity became the second proposed data center in Archbald when the developer submitted a subdivision/land development application and accompanying concept plan to the borough on April 2. Harry Bram, 80 Broad St., Floor 18, New York, New York, signed the application as the owner of Archbald 25 Developer LLC. The application indicates seven two-story buildings, each 135,000 square feet per floor, but an accompanying concept plan actually shows only six data center buildings.

The data center campus would span more than 186 acres, much of which had principally permitted data centers in a commercial zoning district when the developer applied for the project, grandfathering in the campus under legacy zoning rather than Archbald’s new conditional use designation governing data centers. The project includes plans to purchase the Valley View Estates mobile home park on Eynon Jermyn Road, leaving the community’s low-income residents unsure where they will live after they received notices in the summer about a transfer of ownership planned for April 15 with Archbald Developer II LLC.

As a major step forward, Archbald 25 Developer LLC recently spent just shy of $22.5 million acquiring land between Eynon Jermyn Road and Business Route 6.

Who is the developer?

Archbald 25 Developer LLC first filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State on Oct. 10, 2024, as Western Hospitality Partners — Jermyn LLC under a Denver-based law firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP. The law firm advertises itself online as “one of the nation’s leading lobbying firms, offering a bipartisan team with full-service lobbying, public policy and legal representation that helps companies, associations, nonprofits and other organizations interpret federal government actions, solve challenges and seize opportunities.”

An annual report filed March 20 with the Department of State changed the address to a residential address in Bergenfield, New Jersey, with member Allen Bram signing the report. On April 2, an amended filing changed the company’s name to Archbald 25 Developer LLC, with Harry Bram signing that form. A coinciding updated annual report also changed the address to 80 Broad St., Floor 18, in New York City, matching the land development application in Archbald.

Western Hospitality Partners — Jermyn LLC signed a memorandum of purchase and sale agreement Oct. 15, 2024, to buy the 186.21-acre parcel from property owner Five Up Realty LLC, 805 Enterprise St., Dickson City. James Marzolino signed on behalf of Five Up; Harry Bram signed for Western Hospitality. The agreement, which was recorded with the Lackawanna County Recorder of Deeds on Oct. 21, 2024, does not include a sale price. Five Up Realty bought the land in Archbald from Keystone Sanitary Landfill magnates Louis and Dominick DeNaples’ Dunmore-based D&L Realty Co. in May 2023 for $825,000, according to a property transaction recorded May 15, 2023.

Marzolino subsequently applied to build a nearly 620,000-square-foot data center known as “Project Boson” nearby on the Eynon Jermyn Road at the former Highway Auto Parts junkyard; he was co-developer in a now-withdrawn proposal to build up to four data centers in Blakely near Business Route 6 and Terrace Drive; and he now seeks to build four data centers across the mountain above Business Route 6 in Dickson City.

Archbald 25 Developer and Five Up Realty terminated their memorandum in an Oct. 9 filing with the recorder of deeds. The same day, the developer purchased the 186.2-acre parcel from Five Up for $12,025,000, according to the deed, which was signed Sept. 25 and recorded Oct. 9. Marzolino signed both the termination document and deed as the sole member of Five Up Realty, and Harry Bram signed on behalf of Archbald 25 Developer LLC, which the termination notice notes was formerly known as Western Hospitality Partners — Jermyn LLC.

Earlier this month, Archbald 25 Developer also spent $10 million buying the rights to the “coal and or coalbed methane” beneath the 186.2-acre parcel, acquiring the rights from D&L Realty, with Louis and Dominick DeNaples signing the deed, which was recorded Dec. 12. Archbald 25 Developer LLC also bought those same rights for nearby land from North Coal Co. for $360,000, with David H. Swisher signing as CEO of the coal company.

In addition to Project Gravity and Marzolino’s Project Boson, a different developer wants to build 22 more data centers along the Eynon Jermyn Road, flanking the Project Gravity campus on either side. Archbald I LLC filed two zoning permit applications Oct. 22 to build two data center campuses — one campus with 18 data center buildings beginning about 40 feet north of Staback Park on Eynon Jermyn Road, and another with four data centers near the border of Archbald and Jermyn above the junction of Eynon Jermyn Road and Washington Avenue.

The DEP will accept written comments on Project Gravity’s water obstruction and encroachment joint permit application until Jan. 20. Send written comments to the attention of Pamela Kania, P.E., program manager, Waterways and Wetlands Program, DEP Northeast Regional Office, 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701-1915 or by email to ra-epww-nero@pa.gov.