Developer of proposed Union County AI campus says it is listening to residents

Noise, water use and a 300-megawatt power draw still hung over Gregg Township as PNK Group said it was listening to residents and the township pushed the data-center hearing into July.

The New York City developer is seeking approval for an AI data center campus at Great Stream Commons in Allenwood, along Route 15, where it says up to four data centers could be built. One facility would take part of an existing 478,388-square-foot warehouse and distribution building, while three more would go in new construction across about 1.5 million square feet.

PNK has told residents the project would include a 69-kilovolt substation, a closed-loop water system and compliance with Gregg Township’s noise ordinance. The company has also said the campus could bring tax revenue, a new fire engine and a $2 million community fund to be paid out as phases are completed.

Those assurances have not quieted opposition. By early April, residents circulating a petition against the project had gathered more than 120 signatures, citing noise, environmental concerns and possible property-value impacts. More than 110 people turned out for a May 4 public meeting, showing how quickly the proposal has become one of the biggest local development fights in Gregg Township.

The township’s zoning code does not currently permit data centers, and supervisors and the planning commission are weighing whether to rewrite the rules to allow them in commercial and manufacturing districts. The planning commission held a March 25 workshop to research a possible data-center ordinance, and Gregg Township later hired attorney Rick Shoch to help draft language.

The June 1 curative-amendment hearing was postponed so the township could get more information from its acoustical engineer about noise levels and limits. That hearing is expected to be rescheduled in July, leaving residents with several unresolved questions about how loud the campus could be, how much water it would use and what traffic it would add to Route 15 and nearby roads.

The power question may be the biggest of all. Union County commissioners have said data centers can strain the regional electric grid, and Chair Preston Boop has said he was told PPL Electric Utilities could not provide enough power for a project at that location.

Great Stream Commons also carries a long development history that still shapes how neighbors view the site. In 1990, U.S. Pollution Control Inc. proposed building a hazardous waste incinerator there, and a separate proposed data center at the park was later canceled in 2025 after Data Centric LLC ended a purchase agreement for 37 acres. For Gregg Township, the next hearing will test whether the promised benefits outweigh the local costs residents fear most.