Renaissance Park & Innovation Data Center Campus (King of Prussia)
Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County
J. Brian O'Neill's second Montgomery County front: five data center applications totaling more than 4.6 million square feet across King of Prussia, filed just before Upper Merion's stricter data center ordinance took effect and therefore reviewed under the older rules.
Withdrawn / DeniedGreenfield/InfillSE
At a glance
The project by the numbers
StatusDenied
Footprint4,600,000 sq ft
First announced2026-05-27
Target onlineTBD
Five applications, 4.6 million square feet, denied unanimously
The number that mattersMore than 20,000 residents signed the petition against the campus. When the Board of Supervisors denied all five applications on August 13, 2026, the crowd applauded, danced and high-fived in the auditorium.
Developer
MLP Ventures (J. Brian O'Neill), the same developer behind 900 Conshohocken Road across the Schuylkill River
Tenant
Undisclosed. O'Neill offered to name the prospective tenants only if township officials signed a nondisclosure agreement, and they declined.
Current stage
DENIED. On August 13, 2026 the Upper Merion Board of Supervisors unanimously denied two extension requests and all five preliminary land development plans, finding the applications lacked requested architectural plans, traffic impacts and engineering clarification. The developer sued the township the day before and obtained a temporary injunction, which a judge vacated hours before the vote. He has said he will appeal rather than resubmit.
Decision body
Upper Merion Township Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors
Top issues
Scale (4.6M sq ft, larger than Philadelphia International Airport); ordinance timing and grandfathering; tenant secrecy and the refused NDA; power generation; noise, vibration and heat; fire safety; a site on a remediated Superfund parcel; a site replacing an operating daycare
Key opponents
Upper Merion Data Centers (Change.org petition exceeding 17,000 signatures); residents including Courtney Smith and Zachary Davis; State Sen. Katie Muth; neighbors organizing across the river with No Conshy Data Centers
Key supporters
Steamfitters Local 420 and building trades members citing construction work; the developer’s tax-revenue projections
Upper Merion adopted stricter data center restrictions in March 2026, but these five applications were filed before the ordinance took effect and are reviewed under the older rules. First Planning Commission review May 27, 2026 drew a packed and at times unruly crowd and produced no recommendation. Township officials declined the tenant NDA in late May. Review resumed July 22, 2026 with revisions to three applications and nearly the entire auditorium standing in opposition; the remaining two applications are set for August 12, with a mid-August deadline for Board of Supervisors action. On July 22 2026 the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend disapproval of the three applications it reviewed, citing outstanding issues and missing detail.
What is at stake
Documented community impacts
Noise and vibration
High
Residents describe the hyperscale campus as 'power plants with hard drives' that would make the community unlivable; the applications predate the township's stricter noise limits and are reviewed under the older rules.
Five-site campus adds substantial load in the same PJM zone as the 900 Conshohocken Road proposal, compounding capacity costs already passed to ratepayers.
Right to Know records show the same developer told the Governor’s office he was building an 800 megawatt power plant in connection with his Montgomery County data center work and sought state help securing a term sheet with Digital Realty, one of the largest data center companies in the world.
O'Neill states the facilities would use closed-loop water systems; residents and commissioners have pressed for verification of consumption and discharge.
One of the five sites, at 2100 Renaissance Boulevard, sits on a remediated Superfund site; another would replace an operating daycare on Horizon Drive.
O'Neill claims property tax increases of 54 percent for the township and 28 percent for the school district, or $7,817 per child annually; permanent staffing for hyperscale data centers is typically small relative to footprint.
Leaders: Resident organizers including Courtney Smith and Zachary Davis; supported by State Sen. Katie Muth
Tactics: Packed Planning Commission hearings at Upper Merion Area Middle School with overflow crowds, orange "HUGE DATA CENTERS IN UPPER MERION, ABSOLUTELY NOT" signs, a Change.org petition rejecting the campus and all future AI data centers in King of Prussia, coordinated public comment on fire safety, noise, power and zoning
The group estimated 1,000 to 1,200 people at the May hearing, inside and out. At the July 22 review nearly the entire auditorium stood when asked who opposed the project, and the Planning Commission then voted unanimously to recommend disapproval of the three applications before it. Shares a developer and a river with the 900 Conshohocken Road fight in Plymouth Township.
Tactics: Neighborhood organizing in Hughes Park, turnout at Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors meetings, public comment on buffers and vesting, coordination with the wider Upper Merion opposition
The association has focused on the vesting problem: the township adopted far stricter data center rules days after these applications were filed, so the campus is reviewed under the old ordinance. Patti Erickson called that the real kicker for residents.
Timeline
How it has unfolded
2026-03-01Upper Merion adopts stricter data center restrictions covering noise, water, energy use, height, size, zoning and buffers; the O'Neill applications were filed before the new ordinance took effect and are therefore reviewed under the older rules 6abc Philadelphia
2026-03-01The stricter data center ordinance increases required buffers to residences from 150 feet to 1,000 feet and excludes data centers from a zone previously eligible under the warehouse definition. Because the applications were filed days earlier, Township Manager Anthony Hamaday confirms the plans are vested under the older rules DeSmog
2026-05-27First Planning Commission review of the five-site, 4.6M sq ft campus: packed and at times unruly meeting, no recommendation taken; O'Neill calls the project 'an opportunity to change the world for the better' Philadelphia Inquirer
2026-05-27More than 1,000 residents pack the first hearing, with crowds spilling onto the lawn watching on phones; the group Upper Merion Data Centers estimates 1,000 to 1,200 people inside and outside Patch
2026-05-28O'Neill ~4.6M sq ft King of Prussia / Upper Merion data center draws neighbor pushback (Inquirer) Philadelphia Inquirer
2026-05-28Residents object that the campus would upend daily life and threaten long-term health; township manager Anthony Hamaday confirms officials declined O'Neill's offer to name tenants under a nondisclosure agreement because 'they didn't believe it was proper' Philadelphia Inquirer
2026-07-15Township schedules in-depth review: three of the five applications for July 22 and the remaining two for August 12, with meetings moved to Upper Merion Area Middle School to accommodate crowds Philadelphia Inquirer
2026-07-22Second review: O'Neill returns with revisions to three of five applications; commissioners press on zoning, power generation, engineering and environmental impacts; nearly the entire auditorium stands when asked who opposes the project 6abc Philadelphia
2026-07-22Commissioners vote unanimously to recommend that the three reviewed applications be disapproved, citing outstanding issues and a lack of detail across multiple areas, after a contentious four-hour meeting. Chairman Matt Popek to the developer: "I kind of have to ask what were you doing over the last few months." Told details would come "at the appropriate time," Popek replied, "This is the appropriate time. Right now." Chestnut Hill Local
2026-07-22Vice Chair Bill Jenaway rebuts the developer’s claim that commissioners were playing to the audience: "There was no agenda here tonight other than getting answers from your team about submitted plans and the lack of significant detail that we believe existed, so that we can make an informed decision about whether or not these plans should move forward" Chestnut Hill Local
2026-07-22Planning Commission votes against three of the five data center applications The Chestnut Hill Local
2026-07-31Governor declares himself "a hell no" on the companion 900 Conshohocken Road project after its validity challenge, raising questions about state posture toward the developer's five King of Prussia applications Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania
2026-08-12Remaining two of the five applications scheduled for Planning Commission review Montco.Today
2026-08-12Recommendation due on the final two applications, 600 River Road and 411 Swedeland Road, at Upper Merion Area Middle School Patch
2026-08-12Commission takes up the final two applications, 600 River Road and 411 Swedeland Road, at Upper Merion Area Middle School NBC10 Philadelphia
2026-08-12O’Neill sues Upper Merion Township, its Board of Supervisors and its Planning Commission, saying they violated his right to an extension and treated him unfairly. He writes that it is clear the board intends to decline the offer of extension and instead proceed to deny the applications. A Montgomery County judge grants a temporary injunction freezing township action Philadelphia Inquirer
2026-08-13Deadline for the Board of Supervisors to make a final decision on all five applications Patch
2026-08-13Deadline for the Board of Supervisors to decide all five applications, meeting at 7 p.m. at Upper Merion Area Middle School NBC10 Philadelphia
2026-08-13The judge vacates the injunction Thursday afternoon, clearing the Board of Supervisors to meet and decide 6abc Philadelphia
2026-08-13The Board of Supervisors unanimously DENIES two extension requests and all five preliminary land development plans, finding the applications lacked requested architectural plans, traffic impacts and engineering clarification. Vice Chair William Jenaway: "I don’t want to see our professional staff bullied or coerced. Intimidation, coercion and bullying are not good qualities in a professional leader." Chair Tina Garzillo tells O’Neill he may appeal. The crowd applauds, dances and high-fives; more than 20,000 residents had signed the petition Philadelphia Inquirer
2026-08-13O’Neill vows to appeal: "We are not resubmitting our plans. We never have. We have a plan filed, it’s approved by their zoning officer and we’re absolutely going to appeal to get that plan approved" 6abc Philadelphia
2026-08-13Board denies extension letters and preliminary land development plans for all five sites, developer says he will appeal FOX 29 Philadelphia
Legal record
Filings and legal actions
2026-05
Land development planUpper Merion Township Planning Commission · 5 applications
Five separate land development applications totaling more than 4.6 million square feet across Renaissance Boulevard, Horizon Drive, 2100 Renaissance Boulevard and the River/Swedeland Road area. Filed before the township’s stricter data center ordinance took effect, so reviewed under the older rules.
900 Conshohocken Road LLC affiliates / MLP Ventures (J. Brian O'Neill) · Under review
O'Neill maintains the campus is permitted under current zoning with no variances required; township officials disagreed about whether data centers are allowed in all three zoning districts involved.
Applicant vs. township officials · Open
2026-08-12
Court challengeMontgomery County Court of Common Pleas · n/a
Suit alleging the township violated the applicant’s right to an extension and treated him unfairly during review. A temporary injunction freezing township action was granted August 12 and vacated August 13, after which the board denied all five applications. The developer has said he will appeal the denial.
J. Brian O'Neill / MLP Ventures v. Upper Merion Township, Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission · Injunction vacated; denial issued
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.
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.