Noise, traffic top of mind for Cheswick residents as data center project looms next door

In the end, Cheswick officials won’t have any say over the data center proposed next door in Springdale.

But that didn’t stop more than two dozen borough residents from quizzing developers about the potential effects the project could have on their community.

Concerns about noise pollution and traffic congestion took highest priority at an informational meeting held Wednesday night.

Though the entire plot of the former Cheswick Generating Station sits within Springdale, Cheswick directly borders the site for a lengthy stretch along Duquesne Avenue.

Sound waves, however, care little about municipal borders. In fact, much of the noise generated by the proposed center would likely emit west into Cheswick, according to Brian Regli.

Regli, who led the Wednesday night meeting, is a consultant for Allegheny DC Property Co., the land developer driving the project.

The Property Co. LLC is a holding company controlled by Davidson Kempner.

Davidson Kempner Capital Management is an investment firm with tens of billions of dollars worth of assets under management and offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

The company is among the largest hedge fund managers in the world.

At the property line, Cheswick Council President Brad Yaksich said the center would be required to keep below 70 decibels during the day — about the noise level of a dishwasher. In the evening, that level would have to be below that of an average air conditioner, or 60 decibels.

When backup generators are used or tested, however, the noise level likely would be much louder — something like the sound of a loud lawn mower, Regli said.

On average, Regli said, the developer’s goal is to keep the decibel level in the 40s, meaning it would emit something close to a quiet refrigerator hum.

Duquesne Avenue not only serves as the borough line of Springdale and Cheswick, it also would act as the primary entrance point for the massive complex near the intersection with Oak Street.

One branch of the entrance road would lead to St. Mark’s Cemetery and the other to a security vestibule for access to the center.

That would leave the estimated 80 to 100 employees of the site in addition to other related traffic to use Cheswick as an ingress to the facility.

Regli said that likely would lead to increased traffic during construction, but trucks and other vehicles likely would be more limited once the center is in operation.

As for lighting, the consultant said the entire facility would adhere to the standards set forth in the City of Pittsburgh’s Dark Sky Ordinance. That means all lights would be downward facing or otherwise shielded or dimmed unless required for security reasons.

Attendees at the meeting were skeptical, but Regli attempted to assuage their concerns with the potential economic benefits of the complex and its occupancy on the otherwise vacant plot.

“If I were to tell you this had no impact, I would have no credibility,” he said. “The question is: are the benefits in excess of the costs?”

But many details remain up in the air. Regli said the developer was willing to hear resident suggestions about landscape or aesthetic details at the site, like the location of the ingress on Duquesne.

He mentioned the possibility of constructing a mound to keep the center out of sight from Cheswick residents entirely.

One thing is clear, however: the complex would be massive.

The bulk of the interior space would consist of a 565,000-square-foot hyperscale data center and a 200,000-square-foot mechanical cooling plant.

Taken together, the two structures would have a total area around the size of PPG Paints Arena.

Regli said the center would utilize its vast computing power mainly for AI development. His company would target large tech companies as clients, he said, but it hadn’t started marketing yet.

Sites like the one proposed in Springdale often use massive amounts of energy and water to power and cool its servers.

Regli said he’s eyeing the figure of 180 megawatts as the maximum the center would draw at any one time, but it remains uncertain where exactly the facility would draw that power from.

While the water required to cool the facility would be significant, Regli said once the chillers are “charged” with an initial influx of water from Springdale’s municipal supply, the liquid would enter a closed loop to be repeatedly recycled and reused.

He estimated the buildings would have a lifespan of 40 to 50 years.

The next Springdale Planning Commission meeting is set for Sept. 24, when the commissioners will offer their recommendations to borough council.

A public hearing regarding the center is set for Oct. 16.