to settle<\/a> a lawsuit with DeNaples by affirming its April vote.\n<\/p>\nTwo weeks later, ERCOR Triboro LLC, using the address 207 High Point Drive, Suite 300, Victor, New York, sued Olyphant. The mandamus complaint filed June 22 asked a judge to compel the borough and its zoning officer to issue a zoning permit for their plans to build seven data centers and a substation within the footprints of four already-approved 1-million-plus-square-foot warehouses. St. Louis-based Sansone Group bought the land from DeNaples last year for $80 million.\n<\/p>\n
ERCOR\u2019s New York address corresponds with Broadstone Net Lease Inc., which describes itself as an \u201cindustrial-focused, diversified net lease\u201d real estate investment trust on its website. According to a February investor presentation on Broadstone\u2019s website, Project Triboro is an investment opportunity sourced from Sansone Group. The presentation describes the site\u2019s data center potential as \u201cgarnering the attention of hyper-scalers, some of whom have submitted the unsolicited purchase offers.\u201d<\/p>\n
A quarterly report filed Wednesday from Broadstone indicates they have so far invested more than $154 million into Project Triboro.\n<\/p>\n
Broadstone did not respond to an emailed request for comment by 5 p.m. Friday.<\/p>\n
ERCOR argues in its June lawsuit that because it received final land development approval in March 2022 to build warehouses, it has vested approval to build Project Triboro\u2019s data centers under Olyphant\u2019s previous zoning, which did not regulate data centers. The lawsuit contends that the data centers should be permitted by right \u2014 not as conditional uses \u2014 because other comparable uses in the industrial zone are similarly permitted.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit notes that Olyphant would have to hold public hearings on a conditional use application where anyone aggrieved would be allowed to participate and present evidence opposing their project, and the developer would have to create a factual record of evidence and testimony demonstrating their compliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cOpponents to the conditional use application would then have the opportunity to present evidence and testimony in an attempt to demonstrate that the proposed uses would have some detrimental impact beyond what is normally expected from a data center use,\u201d ERCOR wrote in the lawsuit. \u201cAny person objecting to the application or decision by the Borough Council could file appeals to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and unduly delay and prejudice the delivery of an ongoing construction project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olyphant responded Aug. 28, disputing ERCOR\u2019s arguments and asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.\n<\/p>\n
Tentative negotiations began after the June lawsuit, though talks became more intensive over the last two months, leading to the CBA and settlement, Brazil said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat started the process of \u2018OK, then this is something we can work out,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cOur choice is: Lose, and they don\u2019t have any obligations, (or) go through a conditional use hearing, and they could just be subject to what\u2019s in there, but we got more, so it kind of made sense to try to move in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Project Triboro will be subject to land development approvals for its amended plans, Brazil said.
\n![\"Sitework](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STT-L-SETTLEMENT-1031-01.jpg\")
Sitework is underway at ERCOR Triboro\u2019s proposed Project Triboro data center campus off Marshwood Road in Olyphant, as seen from East Scott Street on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. . (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
\u2018Improve Olyphant\u2019<\/p>\n
The CBA will bring in $101 million for Olyphant over 15 years, with milestones for issuing permits for the data centers and substation, according to a financial breakdown. The borough will also receive $416,667.67 monthly for 15 years, totaling $5 million annually.<\/p>\n
Olyphant will receive $1.25 million for each building permit it issues ahead of construction, and $1.5 million for each occupancy permit, which the borough issues when the data centers are ready to be occupied.<\/p>\n
ERCOR Triboro will begin by constructing its substation, paying Olyphant $1.25 million for its building permit and $1.5 million within 30 days of it receiving power, according to Brazil. When Olyphant grants a building permit for the substation, it will also receive $1.5 million for a first responders fund, plus $500,000 for police station upgrades, and $1.5 million for infrastructure, in addition to $500,000 for parks.<\/p>\n
Olyphant will use its $416,667.67 monthly payments for a \u201ccommunity energy and school tax fund\u201d intended to reduce electricity and school tax bills. Olyphant will begin receiving the payments 30 days after issuing the building permit for the substation.<\/p>\n
The school tax fund will offer residential homeowners up to $1,500 toward their property tax bills for the Mid Valley School District, paid directly to the tax collector, Brazil said. For anyone whose bill is less than $1,500, the borough will completely cover it, he said.<\/p>\n
Other than contributions to school tax bills, the Mid Valley School District will not receive money from the CBA.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Olyphant, Mid Valley and Lackawanna County approved a 10-year Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance term for the Triboro site when it was proposed as a nearly 1,000-acre warehousing park. Under the LERTA, Project Triboro will pay full property taxes on the land but only 5% on buildings initially, increasing by 5% each year for 10 years. After the 10th year, it will pay full property taxes on its data centers.<\/p>\n
Overall, Brazil said the funds and project will improve Olyphant\u2019s workforce, infrastructure and recreation.<\/p>\n
Borough engineer Lou LaFratte pointed out that having additional money available will allow Olyphant to tackle projects that it would have otherwise needed to wait for grant funding to address.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be used to improve Olyphant Borough,\u201d LaFratte said. \u201cThat\u2019s the overall sum of what it\u2019s for.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Above and beyond\u2019<\/p>\n
Olyphant officials touted that the settlement and CBA provide additional protections beyond what is in the borough\u2019s April zoning amendment.<\/p>\n
Brazil did not believe they were going to resolve the lawsuit, but after discussing it with ERCOR, \u201cThe long and the short of it is they complied above and beyond with every single requirement in our conditional use ordinance,\u201d the solicitor said.<\/p>\n
The ordinance requires a water study but not a closed-loop system, Brazil said. Closed-loop cooling systems require less water than other cooling methods. The borough wanted them to use closed-loop cooling, and they will, Brazil said.<\/p>\n
Though it was not in the ordinance, ERCOR will be required to enclose its backup generators in a building to reduce sound, and they will minimize testing to 30 minutes once every month, he said. ERCOR also agreed to adhere to Olyphant\u2019s more stringent commercial noise requirements, rather than the industrial zone\u2019s more permissive noise guidelines, requiring noise to be limited to 65 decibels at the data center campus\u2019s property line during the day, and 60 decibels at night, Brazil and LaFratte said.<\/p>\n
However, ERCOR\u2019s generators will not be held to the highest emissions standards under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, known as Tier 4 generators. Instead, they will use Tier 2, Brazil said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did have the discussion on Tier 4. As most people know, the cost of those are pretty \u2014 I think generators run between $1 million and $3 million for the Tier 4,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The borough pushed hard for the developer to use Tier 4, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t amenable to that because they felt that Tier 2 would be sufficient based upon the distance,\u201d Brazil said, adding that\u00a0Tier 4 generators also require longer reliability testing than Tier 2.<\/p>\n
The borough did not have exact figures for how many generators Project Triboro would use, but with generators ranging from 2.5 to 3 megawatts each, at 1,000 megawatts, Project Triboro could use anywhere from 333 to about 400 generators.<\/p>\n
If they intend to use batteries, also known as battery energy storage systems, the settlement agreement stipulates that they have to have a battery fire suppression system, Brazil said.<\/p>\n
ERCOR will also test for low-frequency sounds, which Olyphant\u2019s zoning ordinance didn\u2019t provide for, according to Brazil.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe major complaints that (residents) had have been addressed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Olyphant can require ERCOR to conduct a sound study for every data center it completes to ensure it complies with their noise standards, and the borough can conduct its own studies to confirm ERCOR\u2019s findings, Brazil said.<\/p>\n
Although ERCOR will not be required to get its electricity from Olyphant\u2019s municipal system like the borough\u2019s data center zoning requires, the CBA will allow the borough to reduce electricity bills for residents, Brazil said.<\/p>\n
Upgrading the borough\u2019s electric system and building a substation would cost between $400 million and $500 million, with a study alone costing around $100 million, LaFratte said. The developer would have to pay for the upgrades, but the borough was unsure whether they would have to pay for the study, Brazil added, noting the borough wouldn\u2019t be able to borrow $100 million to put up for the study.<\/p>\n
\u2018Price of silence\u2019<\/p>\n
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan, who previously spoke out against data centers in Olyphant, called the settlement abhorrent and unconscionable Friday, emphasizing his anger toward the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a disgrace \u2014 I think $101 million now apparently is the price of silence,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have seven massive data center buildings. You have the substation. You have potentially hundreds of backup generators, 300 to 400, pumping emissions into the air. You have enormous questions about noise, public health, environmental impacts, the quality of life surrounding Olyphant and that whole community, and rather than subject this project to the full scrutiny of the conditional use process, the borough apparently is prepared to take the money and surrender the entire process.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not responsible government, it\u2019s complete capitulation, Gaughan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of precedent does it set that anybody with deep-enough pockets can sue a borough, negotiate behind closed doors, and then come out with this agreement that effectively sidelines the very residents that local government exists to represent?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Lackawanna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STT-L-OLYPHANT-0611-3.jpg\")
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan stressed the cumulative affects of data centers during an Olyphant council meeting in the Municipal Building in Olyphant on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY \/ STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n
Residents have spent months fighting to have their voices heard, he said, questioning why they weren\u2019t involved in negotiating the agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese people have families. They have jobs. They\u2019re devoting so much of their time and so much of their efforts to understanding these projects and how it\u2019s going to shape the future generations of Olyphant, the Midvalley and this county, and then the council is going to do this,\u201d Gaughan said. \u201cThis is so absurd. It has me sick to my stomach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eva Rappenglueck and her husband, Damian Drutherosky, have lived in Olyphant for five years, raising their 5-year-old daughter. Rappenglueck is one of the founding members of Stop Olyphant Data Centers.<\/p>\n
She said she felt sickened learning about the planned settlement and proposed CBA.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no sum that these companies could offer that would be worth them building with no conditional use or public hearings,\u201d she said, describing the decision as selling out Olyphant. \u201cWhat is the point in having a freshly paved street or a refurbished park when nobody wants to go outside or be in town at all because of everything that we\u2019re suffering from this company?\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Olyphant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STT-L-OLYPHANT-0611-2.jpg\")
Olyphant resident Eva Rappenglueck, a core member of the Stop Olyphant Data Center movement, holds a \u201cWe the People\u201d sign and reacts to public comment during a council meeting in the Municipal Building in Olyphant on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY \/ STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n
Residents were routinely reassured by the borough that they would have the opportunity to address data centers at public hearings, Rappenglueck said. She planned to seek party status to cross-examine data center representatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cA true community benefits agreement would have maybe \u2014 here\u2019s an idea \u2014 actually involved the community,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are multiple members of the community, myself included, that have made it overwhelmingly clear to every council member that we would be more than happy to meet up to discuss what\u2019s happening, just share generalized information, and work together in any form to see what we could do here to make some sort of improvement, and it\u2019s just a complete slap in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaughan, Rappenglueck and Berjashi all said they hope for a massive turnout at Thursday\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n
For Berjashi, who frequents local data center meetings with her husband, Halil, it feels like everything residents have advocated for for months was discarded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey probably think that they are having the best interest of the community because obviously the money that\u2019s going to come into the community, it\u2019s something that they\u2019ve probably never seen before,\u201d Berjashi said. \u201cBut (the) community has been coming to the meetings over and over again saying that, for us, the benefits are not there. The downside of what\u2019s going to happen to our community outweighs the benefit, and it\u2019s not even a question.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Olyphant](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STT-L-OLYPHANT-0611-4.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n
Olyphant resident Natalia Berjashi holds a \u201cWe the People\u201d sign during a council meeting in the Municipal Building in Olyphant on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY \/ STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Olyphant](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STT-L-OLYPHANT-0611-14.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n
Olyphant resident Natalia Berjashi asks borough officials, \u201cWill you allow data centers to scar this community, to rob this community, or will you fight for this community?\u201d during a council meeting in the Municipal Building in Olyphant on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY \/ STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Olyphant](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STT-L-OLYPHANT-0611-6.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n
Olyphant resident Halil Berjashi asks the crowd to raise their hand if they oppose council\u2019s vote to resolve a lawsuit until they more details during a council meeting in the Municipal Building in Olyphant on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY \/ STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
Show Caption<\/p>\n
1 of 3<\/p>\n
Olyphant resident Natalia Berjashi holds a \u201cWe the People\u201d sign during a council meeting in the Municipal Building in Olyphant on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY \/ STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n
Expand<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s important for the community to face developers and express their concerns,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She hopes council thinks of the residents when it votes next week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is going to be their legacy,\u201d she said of council. \u201cThey will be remembered for this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OLYPHANT \u2014 Borough officials are poised to make a $101 million decision on data centers. Olyphant Borough Council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317914,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2116,201,182,139,2120,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-317913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-data-centers","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-olyphant","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317913\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Sitework](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/STT-L-SETTLEMENT-1031-02.jpg\")
Sitework is underway at ERCOR Triboro\u2019s proposed Project Triboro data center campus off Marshwood Road in Olyphant, as seen from East Scott Street on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)