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Breaker Street Data Center Campus (Jessup)

Jessup Borough, Lackawanna County

A data center campus of about 1.1 million square feet in buildings up to 130 feet tall, proposed by Breaker Street Associates LLC for 131 acres on the south side of Breaker Street in Jessup Borough, Lackawanna County, on mixed-use land outside the overlay district the borough drew for data centers, according to FOX56.

ContestedLargeTBD/UndisclosedGreenfieldNEPA
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusOn Appeal
Building area1,100,000 sq ft
Site131 acres
First announced2025-06-10

Denied by Jessup's zoning board; developer now appealing in county court

The number that mattersJessup drew a new overlay district for data centers uphill from the Casey Highway in August 2025, while Breaker Street Associates was asking for buildings up to 130 feet tall in a mixed-use area outside it.
Developer
Breaker Street Associates LLC, with a West Conshohocken address, represented by attorney Kevin Walsh of Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn.
Tenant
Not disclosed. No end user has been named publicly.
Current stage
Jessup's Zoning Hearing Board unanimously denied the project, with the written decision signed around the start of 2026. Breaker Street Associates has filed a land use appeal and a mandamus action, and in August 2026 the borough hired special counsel to defend them in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
Decision body
Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas (land use appeal and mandamus action). Jessup Borough's Zoning Hearing Board made the local decision, and Jessup Borough Council sets the zoning rules.
Top issues
Height and bulk of the buildings next to neighborhoods, keeping the Breaker Street mixed-use area from becoming industrial, noise, air quality in a borough that already hosts the Lackawanna Energy Center power plant, and water and power demand.
Key opponents
Jessup residents who told council in 2025 that any data center should go in the new overlay north of the Casey Highway and that the Breaker Street mixed-use area should keep its intended use.
Key supporters
The developer and its attorney, who argued the borough should expand space for the project, and real estate advisor Jake Terkanian, who called data centers a 'transformational opportunity' at the August 2025 hearing.

How we got here

June 2025: Breaker Street Associates applies for about 1.1 million square feet on 131 acres. Aug. 19, 2025: council holds a hearing and adopts the Energy and Information Technology Overlay. Sept. 2025: the borough rejects the land development plan for lack of zoning compliance and the developer appeals to the Zoning Hearing Board. Nov. 18, 2025: zoning board hearing. Dec. 23, 2025 and Jan. 2, 2026: unanimous denial and written decision. Aug. 5, 2026: council hires special counsel for the developer's mandamus action and land use appeal.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Visual and light

High

The developer sought buildings up to 130 feet tall on 131 acres in a mixed-use area south of the Casey Highway, where residents at the August 2025 hearing said data centers didn't belong.

FOX56 (WOLF)

Visual and light

Medium

Six 130-ft-tall buildings across 131 acres; community opposition contributed to unanimous Zoning Hearing Board denial.

The Times-Tribune (via Yahoo)

Air quality

Medium

Jessup already hosts a large power plant, which Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan cited when pushing for a countywide study of the combined air and health effects of proposed data centers and power plants.

WVIA News
Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2025-07-02Council receives Breaker Street Associates correspondence for the July planning commission agenda. Jessup Borough
  • 2025-08-06The developer's attorney addresses council on the proposed zoning amendment and map overlay. Jessup Borough
  • 2025-08-19At a packed hearing, the developer's attorney asks the borough to expand the area open to data centers so the 131-acre project could go forward. FOX56 (WOLF)
  • 2025-08-19Council adopts Ordinance No. 4 of 2025, creating the Energy and Information Technology Overlay district, 6-0. Jessup Borough
  • 2025-09-03Borough reports it rejected Breaker Street's land development plan for lack of zoning compliance; the developer's appeal goes to the zoning board Sept. 18. Jessup Borough
  • 2025-11-05After a hearing where the developer's attorney spoke, council adopts Ordinance No. 6 of 2025 amending the zoning ordinance and map. Jessup Borough
  • 2026-01-02Jessup Zoning Hearing Board denies Breaker Street data center campus (written decision; heard Dec 23 2025) The Times-Tribune (via Yahoo)
  • 2026-01-05Zoning board chair reports signing the decision in the Breaker Street hearings. Jessup Borough
  • 2026-08-05Council hires special counsel for Breaker Street Associates' mandamus action and land use appeal. Jessup Borough
Legal record

Filings and legal actions

  • 2026-01-02
    Zoning Hearing Board decision Jessup Borough ZHB · (local)

    Zoning Hearing Board unanimously denied zoning relief for about 1.1M sq ft, six-building campus; written decision signed by Chair Jeff Smith and Solicitor Mario J. Hanyon.

    Breaker Street Associates LLC vs Jessup Borough · Denied (unanimous)
  • Land use appeal and mandamus action Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas · n/a

    Developer's court challenge to the denial of its data center campus, including a mandamus action. Jessup Borough Council retained Will McPartland as special counsel.

    Breaker Street Associates LLC v. Jessup Borough · Pending; borough hired special counsel Aug. 5, 2026
News

Coverage of this project

Sources

Know your rights

In Pennsylvania, the local zoning ordinance sets the route. A conditional use is decided by the elected governing body (supervisors, commissioners or council). A special exception or variance, and an appeal of a zoning officer’s decision, go to the Zoning Hearing Board. Each is a public hearing on a record: affected neighbors can ask for party status, cross-examine witnesses, and appeal. Municipalities can also adopt data center ordinances with enforceable standards.

Know your rights →

Take action

Organized community opposition is the single most effective check on these projects in Pennsylvania. Show up to hearings, submit comment when it is taken, support legal and expert-witness costs, and press your municipality for a real ordinance. Pennsylvania municipalities cannot simply freeze applications, but a curative amendment under the Planning Code gives them a defined window to fix a defective ordinance.

How communities push back →