Though questions remain, local officials back proposed Springdale data center

After a planning commission meeting earlier this month offered the first glimpse of a massive proposed data center in Springdale, many local officials say they like what they see.

Preliminary plans presented by Brian Regli, a consultant for developer Allegheny DC Property Co., include two large structures — a 565,000-square-foot hyperscale data center and a 200,000-square-foot mechanical cooling plant.

Springdale Councilman Dan Copeland said he’s excited to see the project come to the Springdale site, a brownfield property where the coal-fired Cheswick Generating Station produced electricity for more than 50 years.

“How long is that property going to stay vacant if we don’t let something like that come in?” he said of the data center.

Though some residents have called for the site to be made into housing or commercial space, Copeland said it’s not suited for anything but industry.

If that industry ends up being a data center, Copeland said, he hopes it will yield good jobs and other benefits for the area, such as faster internet.

For Joe Kern, another Springdale councilman, the data center seems like the “best green option.”

If the proposed center falls through, Kern said, he worries a heavier — and potentially more polluting — industry could snatch up the riverside plot.

With the developer proposing improvements to an on-site cemetery and the development of a nearby trail, Kern said it seems like Allegheny DC is interested in giving back to the community.

But, he said, he’ll continue to look into the potential issues related to noise pollution from the development.

Borough Manager Terry Carcella said he’s also looking into potential noise problems, but he “absolutely” supports the development.

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

Though they’re still waiting on study results for a more concrete figure, developers estimated the site would draw a maximum of 180 megawatts of energy at any one time.

Many residents expressed concerns that the center could strain the local electric grid or skyrocket electric costs, concerns Carcella said he shares.

“Their concerns are my concerns,” Carcella said.

But the manager said power issues ultimately were beyond the control of the borough.

Though he doesn’t get a vote on the development, Brad Yaksich, council president of neighboring Cheswick, said he’s pleased with the preliminary plans.

The property is located entirely within Springdale, but it directly borders a residential area of Cheswick.

Yaksich said noise is a concern, but he said the developer seemed responsible and would have to comply with local ordinances.

“One of the biggest fears is that nothing would go there,” Yaksich said.

Yaksich said he had spoken to developers about hosting an informational meeting in his borough for concerned residents.

State Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Fox Chapel, said she’s working with the site’s developers, but she’s not quite sold on the project yet.

She and developers are still hashing out a community benefits agreement that she hopes will bring further investment along the riverfront, Steele said.

That includes protecting or creating nearby green space. Developers shot down the idea of a riverfront park at the property, but Steele said she’s pushing for them to help finance other nearby public areas.

“I want to see the most and best we can get out of this project,” Steele said.

So far, Steele said, developers have shown a willingness to invest in the area, but without some sort of agreement, she said the project would not earn her blessing.

“It is industrial; it is contaminated, but it’s a prime piece of real estate,” she said.

Though many local officials seem happy with the proposal, reactions among residents have been cooler.

At the planning commission meeting, Springdale residents grilled the developers on everything from light pollution to carbon dioxide emissions.

The site’s enormous energy demand also was a concern among residents.

Next up for the project is a more formal planning commission meeting Sept. 24. There, commission members will offer their recommendations to Springdale Council.

That means the borough could approve the project as soon as October.

It would then have to enter its land development phase, which would involve county officials, to gain approval for construction to begin.