Vineland data center faces delays, lawsuits and permit disputes

Two Vineland residents sued in May, alleging that noise from the data center at Lincoln and Sheridan avenues disrupted their quality of life and their ability to enjoy their homes. The case arrived as the project, first pitched as a fast-moving economic win, faced construction delays, permit disputes and growing questions over how much of the promised benefit will ever reach Cumberland County.

Nebius announced on March 5, 2025, that it was planning a New Jersey data center with capacity of up to 300 megawatts and said the first phase was expected to go live in summer 2025. The company said the facility would be built to Nebius’s own design and later said it had joined forces with DataOne to bring that first phase online.

By Feb. 11, 2026, Pinelands Alliance was describing the Vineland project as a 350-megawatt, 2.6 million-square-foot data center and saying residents had not been kept up to date. That gap between the original promise and the newer description has become central to the criticism surrounding the project, especially as investors watch whether deadlines hold in a volatile data-center market.

The opposition has widened beyond the noise complaint. Sierra Club, Sustain South Jersey and local farmers publicly opposed the project and linked it to new dirty gas generation, while the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance issued a letter opposing the Vineland AI data center. The criticism reflects a broader worry in South Jersey that the project could strain local infrastructure and energy systems long before any local payoff is clear.

Some commentary has also warned that air permit issues could push the New Jersey facility back by 12 to 24 months. Pinelands Alliance says the project shows how data centers are advancing through redevelopment loopholes, and the group argues that municipalities are not equipped to judge environmental impacts that cross town boundaries.

For Vineland residents, the dispute is now about more than a single building site. The original timetable promised a summer 2025 start for the first phase; the noise lawsuit, permit questions and public opposition have turned that promise into the benchmark for whether the project can still deliver jobs, tax revenue and credibility after months of delay.