Gregg Township AI Data Center Plan Sparks Local Tax Abatement Debate

PJ Reilly, a Republican running for Union County commissioner, was knocking on doors in Gregg Township when residents kept raising the same concern: if an AI data center moves into Great Stream Commons, who ends up carrying the tax load it leaves behind?

That question sits at the center of a sharpening dispute over a proposal by PNK Group, a New York-based industrial developer, to build a data center on a 37-acre lot at Great Stream Commons, the county-owned industrial park near Allenwood along Route 15. Reilly, out canvassing for votes, argued that tax abatement arrangements tied to projects like this shift the burden onto homeowners and renters already watching their property tax bills and utility costs climb.

The immediate obstacle for PNK is a straightforward one: Gregg Township's zoning ordinance does not permit data centers. Township Secretary Jodi Willow confirmed that any such project would require additional steps before it could move forward. PNK has applied for an amendment to the township's zoning ordinance to allow data centers in areas currently designated for commercial and manufacturing uses. That amendment request, not the developer's sales pitch, is where local authority actually sits. Gregg Township's three-member Board of Supervisors governs the 15.1-square-mile township on a budget of roughly $250,000 a year.

Union County Commissioner Chair Preston Boop said the county, as a landowner at Great Stream Commons, plays a separate role. "It still has to pass muster with the municipality," Boop said. "We're just a landowner at Great Stream Commons." He has otherwise been guarded. "There's been a lot of concern raised," Boop said. "At this point in time, I certainly don't know enough about the unintended consequences of data centers to think about approving anything at Great Stream Commons. The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know." County commissioners received a formal purchase offer from PNK P2 LLC for the 37-acre lot and took no action on it.

The company already owns two properties at Great Stream Commons totaling 158 acres, and Gregg Township recently approved PNK to build three additional buildings there. Planning and Economic Development Director Shawn McLaughlin said a data center remains a possibility for those structures, though no stated use has been announced. Great Stream Commons adds another layer to the tax question: the park carries Keystone Opportunity Zone status through 2027, a state program that provides relief on certain business taxes. Pennsylvania's separate data center tax exemption, enacted to incentivize the industry, provides a 100% abatement of sales and use taxes on equipment and electricity for periods of up to 15 years.

Boop noted at a recent conference in Harrisburg that roughly 10% or fewer of sites identified as potential data center locations in Pennsylvania are ever actually built out.

PNK Group has scheduled a public information meeting for 4 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in Allenwood. Residents must register in advance to receive the exact location.