Limerick Township, Montgomery County
Limerick Town Center LLC wants a data center campus on 191 acres of the former Publicker distillery in Linfield, first drawn as eight two-story buildings totaling just under 1.8 million square feet and revised in July 2026 to seven buildings up to 98.7 feet tall with about 507 megawatts of on-site power generation, a second large application in the same township as Project Laurel.
June 18, 2024: Limerick amends its zoning with the conditional use overlay that allows data centers, the rules this application falls under. January 20, 2026: supervisors vote 3-1 to oppose a State Game Lands swap with the Publicker site's owner; the manager says no data center application has been filed. January 24: the Game Commission approves the swap 6-3. April 2026: CU 26-03 filed with an April 2 plan for eight two-story buildings, just under 1.8 million square feet, 65 feet tall. May 5: conflict solicitor appointed. July 7: Revision 1 plan with seven buildings up to 98.7 feet and 13 Bloom power platforms. August 31: time extension to January 29, 2027 granted; the September 10 Planning Commission and September 22 supervisors' sessions are postponed. Planning Commission review expected in December and supervisors' hearings in January.
Update, October 26, 2026. By October 26, 2026 the township had scheduled CU 26-03 for the Planning Commission on December 10, 2026 and set the supervisors' first conditional use hearing for January 12, 2027, both at 6:30 p.m.
The July 2026 revised plan shows 13 Bloom power generation platforms labeled 39 megawatts each, about 507 megawatts of on-site generation, with a PECO gas meter on Main Street and generator yards beside the buildings.
Limerick TownshipAccording to the township, cooling water would come from on-site wells or an allocation permit from the Schuylkill River, and if an open-loop system is used the industrial wastewater would be treated on site or disposed of under state Department of Environmental Protection rules.
Limerick TownshipThe revised plan raises the maximum building height to 98.7 feet and shows retaining walls up to about 40 feet high and about 4,500 feet long along the site.
Limerick TownshipThe plan places buildings, parking and loading 225 feet from homes. The overlay district requires 400 feet but allows as little as 200 feet if sound studies show the project meets the township's noise standards.
Limerick TownshipThe township lists a utility-owned switchyard and a customer substation among the project's accessory uses, which would tie a campus of this size into the regional grid.
Limerick TownshipIn 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 →