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Speculative

Project Boson (Archbald)

Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County

A data center project in Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County, and the end user has not been named publicly.

SpeculativeBrownfield/mine-spoilNEPA
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusSpeculative / Exploratory
First announced2025
Target onlineTBD

Early stage interest in Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County

Tenant
Not disclosed. No end user has been named publicly.
Current stage
Nothing formal has been filed. What is known so far comes from land assembly, utility inquiries or sketch plans rather than an application.
Decision body
Archbald Borough
Top issues
Residents and officials have focused on what remains in the ground from the site's industrial past, how little has been disclosed about the end user, water use, continuous mechanical noise, and emissions from backup generation.

Developer undisclosed. One of three additional Archbald campuses bordering Project Gravity. Part of 6-campus Archbald cluster. UPDATE: Project Boson (620,000 sq ft single-building campus on former Highway Auto Parts junkyard site across Eynon-Jermyn Rd) was also submitted before the overlay and skips conditional use; no hearings held as of Apr 2026.

What is at stake

Documented community impacts

Visual and light

High

Part of 51-building Archbald cluster (6 projects, 14% of borough land).

Stop Archbald

Energy costs and the grid

High

Stop Archbald Facebook organizing >5,000 followers.

Stop Archbald

Environmental justice and site legacy

High

Six data center campuses proposed by five developers would cover roughly 14 percent of Archbald Borough and displace an existing trailer park, according to reporting by Spotlight PA.

Spotlight PA

Energy costs and the grid

High

Lackawanna County has drawn at least a dozen data center proposals since 2024, and County Commissioner Bill Gaughan has written to the Governor and legislative leaders asking for a three year statewide moratorium.

Spotlight PA
Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2025-11-24Council votes 5 to 2 to create a Data Center Overlay District. The borough manager told residents a single data center could cover more than 60 percent of the borough budget, and the overflow crowd reacted with anger, accusing council of having decided in advance Resilience / CASSE
  • 2026-03-27Council votes 5 to 0 against the conditional use application for Archbald I LLC and Project Scott, after three council members including the council president resigned amid mounting pressure Resilience / CASSE
  • 2026-05-14About 400 residents attend the public meeting on the Wildcat Ridge campus, one of six data center campuses proposed in the borough by five developers, together covering roughly 14 percent of Archbald Scranton Times-Tribune
News

Coverage of this project

Sources

Know your rights

In Pennsylvania, a data center on industrial land usually needs a special exception or conditional use, decided by a local Zoning Hearing Board after a public, quasi-judicial hearing. Neighbors can request party status, cross-examine witnesses, and build an evidentiary record. Municipalities can also write 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 ask your municipality for a moratorium and a real ordinance.

How communities push back →