Contested

Project Gravity (Archbald)

Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County

A project of roughly 1,620,000 square feet proposed for Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County, and the end user has not been named publicly.

ContestedBrownfieldNEPA

At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusApplication Filed

Footprint1,620,000 sq ft

Site186 acres

Capex$ 5 B

Permanent jobs300

First announced2024

Target onlineTBD (5-yr build)

Filed and under review in Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County

The number that mattersThe plans cover roughly 1,620,000 square feet of building.

Tenant: Not disclosed. No end user has been named publicly.
Current stage: An application is on file and under municipal review.
Decision body: Archbald Borough
Top issues: Residents and officials have focused on the sheer footprint of the buildings, 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.
Key opponents: Stop Archbald Data Centers (~7,900 FB members; Tamara Misewicz-Healey); Lackawanna Co Commissioner Bill Gaughan (pro-moratorium)
Key supporters: Borough fiscal case (one DC ≈ 60% of borough budget per manager Dan Markey)

Overlay district passed 5-2 Nov 24 2025; 3 councilmembers (incl. president Moran) resigned; new members seated Apr 15 2026; Project Scott denied 5-0 Mar 27 2026; Gravity off Fast Track May 1 2026.

What is at stake

Documented community impacts

Environmental justice and site legacy

High

Adjacent to Lackawanna Housing Authority - environmental justice concern; ejected from Fast Track May 2026.

PA Office of the Governor

Water

High

Project Gravity projected ~360,000 gallons/day from Lake Scranton (serves 134,570 people); cluster's Wildcat Ridge up to 3.3 MGD, some from flooded coal mines.

Spotlight PA

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

Public safety

Medium

Mine-subsidence risk: campuses sit atop abandoned coal mines filled with ground/rainwater and acid mine drainage.

Spotlight PA

Community response

Who is organizing against it

Stop Archbald Data Centers

Cluster (Archbald borough) · Founded 2025 · 750+ (event petition) signatures

Leaders: Tamara Misewicz-Healey (movement leader); panel organizers

Tactics: Facebook group (~7,900 members ≈ 2/3 of borough population), public library information forums, mass meeting turnout (200–400+), candidate/council pressure leading to 3 resignations, land-use appeals tracking

Covers the entire 6-campus Archbald cluster (P013/P014/P030/P031/P032/P033). Instrumental in Project Scott's 5-0 denial (Mar 27 2026) and council leadership turnover (new president Louis Rapoch). Backed by Lackawanna Co Commissioner Bill Gaughan (pro-moratorium).

Facebook

Timeline

How it has unfolded

2025-11-24Archbald passes Data Center Overlay District 5-2 amid overflow crowd Spotlight PA
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
2026-05-01Project Gravity ejected from PA Permit Fast Track PA Office of the Governor
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

2026-06-16 Resilience / Steady StateThe Data Center Showdown in Lackawanna CountyDeep cluster analysis / budget math
2026-05-01 WVIAFast Track no more: Pa. kicks Archbald data center campus off permit programProject Gravity off Fast Track
2026-04-22 WVIAPPL Electric Utilities confirms data centers spurred transmission project in Lackawanna CountyArchbald Mountain transmission / utility
2026-03-28 Spotlight PAArchbald, PA, fights data centers in AI development rushCluster overview / water / evictions
2026-03-28 Spotlight PAArchbald, PA, fights data centers in AI development rushSix campuses across 14 percent of the borough, and the land deals behind them

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 →