Contested

Wildcat Ridge AI Data Center Campus

Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County

A project of roughly 17,200,000 square feet proposed for Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County, and the end user has not been named publicly.

ContestedBrownfield/GreenfieldNEPA

At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusProposed

Footprint17,200,000 sq ft

Site400 acres

Capex$ 2.1 B

First announced2025

Target onlineTBD

Proposed for Archbald Borough, Lackawanna County

The number that mattersThe plans cover roughly 17,200,000 square feet of building.

Tenant: Not disclosed. No end user has been named publicly.
Current stage: The project has been proposed and is working through 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.

Cornell Realty Management LLC; Pine Line Inc. partial owner; LaBella Associates engineering. Sold to Archbald Ventures (shared address with Trodale Developers). 14 three-story DCs × 379,500 sq ft = 17.2M sq ft + 63.8 acres commercial. On-site substation adjacent to existing PPL substation. Conditional-use hearing began Jan 2026 at Valley View HS. Mine-water reuse explored. Lackawanna Cty Comm. Bill Gaughan: 'I am absolutely opposed to sacrifice zones.' Developer end-tenant still publicly undisclosed. Reported figures for the campus include roughly 1,600 MW and up to 3.3 million gallons of water per day from Lake Scranton per Times-Tribune reporting. About 400 residents attended a May 14 2026 public meeting, and conditional use proceedings before the reconstituted borough council continue.

What is at stake

Documented community impacts

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.

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
2026-05-14~400 residents attend public meeting on Wildcat Ridge Data Center Steady State / Resilience.org
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

2026-03-28 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 →