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Withdrawn / Denied

Wildcat Ridge AI Data Center Campus

Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County

Cornell Realty Management wanted to build 14 data center buildings with 588 diesel backup generators on about 574 mountainside acres off Business Route 6 and Wildcat Road; Archbald Borough Council denied the plan on October 21, 2026.

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At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusDenied
Capacity1600 MW
Building area17,200,000 sq ft
Site574 acres
Water (max)3.3 MGD
Capex$ 2.1 B
Permanent jobs, as claimed1,280
First announced2025
Target onlineTBD

Archbald council unanimously denies the 14-building Wildcat Ridge data center campus

The number that mattersA public health expert hired by residents estimated the campus's 588 diesel backup generators could cause $3 million to $124 million in health damages each year.
Developer
Cornell Realty Management LLC of Brooklyn, New York, founded by Isaac Hager. Attorneys Edmund Campbell, Megan Haines of Reed Smith and Lucas Liben argued its case, LaBella Associates of Dunmore, led by project manager Albert J. Magnotta III, engineered the plans, and Nuceli Data advised on the data center design. Cornell hired Ryan Leckey Media for a mail and online campaign in spring 2026.
Tenant
Cornell's attorney said in June 2026 that the campus still had no end user and that one would be identified at the appropriate time.
Current stage
Archbald Borough Council voted unanimously on October 21, 2026 to deny the application after nine conditional use hearings between January and September 2026. The developer can appeal to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas within 30 days of the written decision, and residents expect it to. A separate preliminary land development application filed July 22, 2026 was found incomplete.
Decision body
Archbald Borough Council decided the conditional use application. Any appeal would go to the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
Top issues
The fight centered on clearing a forested ridge for 14 buildings, 588 diesel backup generators and their health effects, noise far above the borough's quiet background levels, and up to 3.3 million gallons of water a day in peak summer from Lake Scranton. Residents also questioned the traffic study and an economic study built on Virginia data and an AI search tool.
Key opponents
Stop Archbald Data Centers, whose co-founder Tamara Misewicz-Healey had party status in the hearings, and residents represented by attorney Justin Richards. The Valley View School District also took part as a party, and Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan, state Rep. Kyle Mullins and Lackawanna County Controller Gary DiBileo spoke against the campus.
Key supporters
Cornell Realty Management, which offered a $17 million community benefit agreement and mailed pamphlets claiming about $45 million a year in tax revenue. Its planner, Tom Shepstone, projected 1,280 jobs and about $5.2 million a year in borough taxes. No local group spoke in favor.

How we got here

LaBella Associates filed plans for the campus in 2025, then described as a $2.1 billion project on nearly 400 acres with 14 three-story buildings and nearly 60 acres of planned commercial development. Cornell Realty Management's conditional use application was received December 15, 2025 under the overlay district council had passed November 24, 2025. Hearings opened January 28, 2026 at Valley View High School, where Commissioner Bill Gaughan said, "I am absolutely opposed to sacrifice zones," and the developer described a 3.3 million gallon a day water need, possible use of mine water and a substation next to Scott Township. About 400 residents attended the May 14 hearing, where Cornell offered a $17 million community benefit agreement; the developer rested its case June 15, residents' health expert testified July 6, the borough's sound consultant testified July 13, and on August 4 the developer asked six council members to step aside. Council refused on September 9 at the final hearing and denied the application unanimously on October 21, 2026. Reported figures for the campus include roughly 1,600 megawatts.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Visual and light

High

Part of 51-building Archbald cluster representing 14% of borough land.

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.

Grist, co-published by 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.

Grist, co-published by Spotlight PA

Noise and vibration

High

The borough's sound consultant found 14 areas where projected noise would be at least 20 decibels above background, with increases from about 9 to 39 decibels and up to 46 decibels at night during generator operation, which he said he had never seen on any project.

FOX56 (WOLF)

Air quality

High

A public health expert hired by residents estimated the 588 diesel backup generators could cause $3 million to $124 million in health damages a year, and noted the developer hadn't said which generators or emission controls it would use.

WVIA

Water

High

The application estimated $93 million in upgrades would be needed to deliver 3.3 million gallons of water a day at peak, and the developer looked at treating polluted mine pool water to supplement Lake Scranton supplies.

WVIA

Property values

Medium

A local real estate agent told council in July 2026 that nine buyers that year asked to drop Archbald, Eynon, Olyphant and Dickson City from their home searches because of the proposal.

FOX56 (WOLF)

Traffic

Medium

The developer's traffic consultant projected 2,498 daily trips using national standards based on buildings far smaller than those proposed, and no full traffic impact study was prepared for the hearings.

WVIA

Public safety

Medium

Council member Larry Marchetti objected that the campus security plan didn't explain how the borough's volunteer fire companies would respond to electrical, battery and fuel hazards, and the Valley View School District said Cornell never contacted it about evacuation or shelter-in-place planning.

WVIA

Jobs and tax claims

Low

The developer's planner projected 1,280 jobs, counting planned retail and office space, but acknowledged data centers aren't big employers and based his tax estimates partly on a Virginia study he found with an AI search tool.

WVIA
Community response

Who is organizing against it

Stop Archbald Data Centers

Archbald Borough and neighboring Mid Valley communities, including Jermyn

Leaders: Tamara Misewicz-Healey and Justin Healey (co-founders)

Tactics: Packs every council meeting, Planning Commission meeting and conditional use hearing; hired attorney Justin Richards and outside experts on public health and noise; filed the court appeal of the borough's data center overlay ordinance; sells yard signs and t-shirts to fund legal costs; holds public forums and bus tours.

FOX56 reported about 7,900 Facebook group members in April 2026, and Resilience reported about 12,000 by June 2026. The group's website tracks each Archbald project, hearing dates and court dockets, and its GoFundMe raises money for legal expenses.

Website · Facebook · Donate

Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2025-11-24Council creates a Data Center Overlay District by a 4 to 2 vote with one abstention. Dave Moran, Francis Burke, Marie Andreoli and Richard Guman voted yes, Laura Lewis and Erin Owen voted no, and John Shnipes III abstained because his family's property is involved in one of the projects. 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
  • 2025-12-15The borough receives Cornell's conditional use application for the Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus. Archbald Borough
  • 2026-01-28The first conditional use hearing opens at Valley View High School, with county and state officials speaking against the campus. WVIA
  • 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
  • 2026-04-13At the third hearing, residents return the developer's mailed pamphlets and question a traffic estimate of 2,498 daily trips. WVIA
  • 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
  • 2026-05-14Cornell offers the borough a $17 million community benefit agreement during a hearing focused on flaws in its sound study. WVIA
  • 2026-06-15The developer rests its case after a second traffic expert testifies, and the Valley View School District is granted party status. WVIA
  • 2026-07-06A public health expert hired by residents testifies the 588 diesel generators could cause $3 million to $124 million a year in health damages. WVIA
  • 2026-07-13The borough's sound consultant testifies that noise would rise at least 20 decibels above background in 14 areas of the borough. FOX56 (WOLF)
  • 2026-07-22Cornell files a preliminary land development application, which borough staff find incomplete on August 5, 2026. Archbald Borough
  • 2026-08-04The developer moves for six of seven council members to recuse themselves for bias and presents an air quality rebuttal witness. FOX56 (WOLF)
  • 2026-09-09At the ninth and final hearing, council members sign affidavits denying bias, refuse to step aside and hear closing arguments. WVIA
  • 2026-10-21Council unanimously denies the conditional use application for the 14-building Wildcat Ridge campus. WVIA
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 →