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STATUS: Active | Preliminary land development
Last updated: 4/1/2026
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This is the same land at the center of a conditional use application the Borough Council recently denied that was resubmitted by the same developer as a by right use, bypassing the public hearing process entirely.
The site is a 400 plus acre industrial data center campus stretching from Eynon-Jermyn Road to the Scranton Carbondale Highway, a quarter mile from Valley View Intermediate School, within 200 yards of the Highlands development, and just 40 feet from the youth soccer fields at Ed Staback Memorial Park. It borders both Staback Park and Archbald Pothole State Park, both zoned Resource Conservation.
The scale is staggering. Sixteen data center buildings, each over 124,000 square feet, alongside a water treatment facility, a 230 kV switching station, and multiple substations. To build it, the developer will demolish existing woodland, open fields, and homes on land containing historical anthracite mining areas, steep slopes, and wetlands. Impervious surface would increase from 34,000 square feet to over 7 million including concrete, asphalt, and rooftops draining toward the Lackawanna River.
Archbald Borough's own zoning review has already flagged the application, demanding missing studies on noise, vibration, lighting, and steep slope mitigation.
Because data centers are principally permitted across this site's mix of commercial and industrial zones, there is no required public hearing and no Borough Council vote. The community's involvement comes through early awareness, rigorous scrutiny of the environmental permitting process, and sustained pressure at every planning stage available.