Lancaster City, Lancaster County
Chirisa Technology Parks and Machine Investment Group are turning two former R.R. Donnelley printing plants into the Lancaster AI Hub for tenant CoreWeave, with an initial 100 megawatts that CoreWeave says could grow to 300 megawatts.
The developers bought the two former Donnelley-LSC printing plants, which closed in 2023, and announced data center plans in February 2025. DEP received the air permit application for 216 Greenfield Road on May 14, 2025, and the city approved the first building's permit in June 2025. CoreWeave announced on July 15, 2025, at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh, that it would commit up to $6 billion to equip the site, with about 600 construction jobs and about 70 full-time roles at launch growing to about 175. A Turner and Wohlsen joint venture won the construction contract, and Blue Owl formed a $4 billion joint venture with the developers in August 2025. City Council asked the solicitor to draft data center rules on August 15, 2025. DEP published the draft air permit on November 15, 2025. Council approved a community benefits agreement 6-1 on November 20, 2025, with $20 million for economic development and sustainability, a 100 percent clean energy requirement for the first 10 years, a noise standard at existing ambient levels, and a 20,000 gallon per day water cap per campus. A judge ruled for the developers on December 22, 2025 in their suit against a resident's zoning appeal. Council adopted data center zoning rules 7-0 on July 14, 2026, which don't apply to these two sites. The planning commission conditionally approved the second Greenfield Road building on July 1, 2026, Lancaster RAGE appealed, and a judge stayed the zoning hearing on September 21, 2026.
Update, October 26, 2026. On September 30, 2026 LNP reported that DEP is reviewing an air quality application for 84 diesel backup generators for the second Greenfield Road building, with public comments accepted through October 26, 2026. Combined with the first building's 72 generators, the campus would have 156, with annual nitrogen oxide emissions of 99.03 tons, just under the 100-ton level that would require a federal major source permit.
DEP's proposed plan approval covers 176 diesel emergency generators of 3,250 kilowatts each (72 in phase one), each with selective catalytic reduction and a diesel particulate filter. DEP estimated potential emissions of 83 tons per year of nitrogen oxides, 31 tons of carbon monoxide, 13 tons of volatile organic compounds, 4 tons of particulates and 45,000 tons of carbon dioxide.
Pennsylvania BulletinDEP draft air permit Nov 15 2025; backup generators.
PA BulletinUnder the benefits agreement, operations can't exceed existing ambient noise at nearby homes and parks, with testing before and after the sites open. Generators sit in sound-attenuated enclosures and can be tested only in daytime, never on Sundays or federal holidays, according to the city's summary.
City of LancasterThe developer says it's spending about $200 million on electric grid upgrades, including a new PPL substation and switchyard near Pitney Road. PPL told the city that large-load customers pay directly for upgrades only they need, while upgrades with broader reliability benefits are spread among all customers.
WITF (LNP | LancasterOnline)The city's FAQ says Chirisa expects 600 to 1,000 construction jobs at the Greenfield site and up to 350 permanent jobs as the projects scale up. CoreWeave's own figure is about 70 full-time roles at launch, growing to about 175.
City of LancasterThe agreement caps water use at 20,000 gallons per day per campus, compared with the 100,000 to 125,000 gallons per day the printing plant used on average, and requires closed-loop cooling with no added chemicals, according to the city.
City of LancasterTactics: Appealed the planning commission's July 1, 2026 conditional approval of the second Greenfield Road building to the zoning hearing board without a lawyer.
Listed 25 members on its appeal application, many living within half a mile of the site, according to LNP. A judge stayed the hearing on September 21, 2026.
A resident appealed the zoning officer's February 2025 finding that the data centers are a permitted 'wholesale trade and storage' use. The developers sued to stop the zoning hearing board from hearing it, and Judge Thomas B. Sponaugle ruled the officer's letters were advisory opinions that couldn't be appealed.
Data center developers (Chirisa Technology Parks and partners) v. a city resident who appealed the zoning determination · Decided for the developers on December 22, 2025; the resident did not appeal to a higher courtLancaster RAGE appealed the planning commission's July 1, 2026 conditional preliminary approval of the second building at 216 Greenfield Road, arguing it amounted to a zoning determination. The developers sued for a declaratory judgment, saying they have spent about $1.3 billion and that the new ordinance permits data centers with complete applications filed before June 25, 2026.
Lancaster Residents Against Glut and Exhaust; data center developers (Chirisa Technology Parks and partners) · Zoning hearing stayed by the court on September 21, 2026; suit pendingIn 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 →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 →