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Withdrawn / Denied

Upper Hanover Data Center (Hanover Development L.P.)

Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County

Hanover Development L.P. withdrew both applications for a 150,000-square-foot data center on about 37 acres off Gravel Pike on October 14, 2026; the owner is weighing the site's existing light industrial zoning or a residential plan, which would need rezoning.

Withdrawn / DeniedMid-sizeTBD/UndisclosedGreenfieldSE
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusWithdrawn
Building area150,000 sq ft
Site37.48 acres
First announced2026-06-09

Withdrawn: filed seven hours before the new rules, pulled four months later

The number that mattersTownship Manager Anne Klepfer: "The Township is very relieved that the applications are withdrawn, but are somewhat forced to wonder if the entire exercise was a ploy to get the property's zoning options expanded."
Developer
Hanover Development L.P. (Gwynedd Valley)
Tenant
Not disclosed; the developer has said the site could be sold to an unnamed third party for the data center.
Current stage
Withdrawn October 14, 2026. The developer withdrew both the conditional use application and the validity challenge, and supervisors told him to file a rezoning application if he wants to pursue homes instead.
Decision body
Upper Hanover Township Board of Supervisors (conditional use)
Top issues
Filing timed ahead of a stricter ordinance; a validity challenge to the zoning; an unnamed third-party buyer; a 150,000-square-foot building less than 300 feet behind homes on Gravel Pike; groundwater, noise and pollution worries raised by neighbors; township costs of close to $20,000 that taxpayers can't recover.
Key opponents
Residents of Upper Hanover and neighboring Upper Perkiomen Valley towns, who filled meetings at the Upper Perkiomen schools, planned a protest for July 18, 2026 and urged supervisors to hire a land use attorney. No named opposition group has been reported.
Key supporters
No public supporters were on record besides the property owner, Hanover Development L.P.

How we got here

June 9, 2026: conditional use application and validity challenge delivered at noon, about seven hours before supervisors unanimously adopt Ordinance 2026-04. June 19: the developer waives the 60-day hearing deadline and asks to go first with the conditional use hearing. July 6: a joint supervisors and Planning Commission meeting on the new ordinance draws a large crowd opposed to the data center. July 14: supervisors hire special solicitor Joseph C. Kuhls for the hearings. August 11: solicitor reports a 163-townhouse offer tied to a January postponement, or else a sale to an unnamed third party for the data center. September 8: 138-townhome alternative presented and called too dense. October 13: Robert Downs announces the withdrawal and shows a 60-home sketch; supervisors suggest about 30 homes. October 14: withdrawal letters received.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Property values

Low

The withdrawn plan placed a 150,000-square-foot building less than 300 feet behind several homes along Gravel Pike, and the owners of a farm next to the site worried health effects could force them to move.

Town & Country

Public safety

Low

The plan showed a gas line that runs through the property being relocated to make room for the building.

Town & Country

Water

Low

Residents raised concerns about strain on groundwater and asked for strict stormwater standards at the July 6 ordinance meeting.

Town & Country
Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2026-06-09Conditional use application and substantive validity challenge filed about seven hours before the supervisors adopt a stricter data center amendment The Mercury
  • 2026-06-19The developer's attorney waives the 60-day hearing deadline and asks to proceed with the conditional use hearing first, to be held no later than October 30. Upper Hanover Township
  • 2026-07-06A joint meeting seeking input on the new data center ordinance draws a large crowd, most speaking against the Gravel Pike data center. Town & Country
  • 2026-07-14Supervisors authorize Joseph C. Kuhls of Kuhls Law as special solicitor for the conditional use hearings. Town & Country
  • 2026-08-11Township solicitor reports the developer's offer of 163 stacked townhouses if the hearing is postponed to January, or else a sale to an unnamed third party for the data center Town & Country
  • 2026-09-08Developer presents a 138-townhome alternative plan Town & Country
  • 2026-10-13Developer announces it is withdrawing the conditional use application and the validity challenge; letters received October 14 Upper Hanover Township
  • 2026-10-22Budget work session agenda calls for removing budget increases added because of the data center applications, including a $100,000 professional services line. Upper Hanover Township
News

Coverage of this project

Sources

Know your rights

In 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 →

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 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 →