Old Forge Data Center Plans Face Opposition Over Borehole Project

Executive Summary

A proposed hyperscale data center campus in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, is facing organized community opposition tied to a nearby borehole project, introducing zoning and environmental review risk to a development that had already drawn scrutiny. Local sentiment is hardening before the project clears permitting — a pattern that adds cost, timeline, and political risk for developers. Landowners holding adjacent parcels should expect slower entitlement timelines, while investors underwriting site acquisition in the region need to stress-test community approval assumptions. The InfraSale takeaway: community engagement is no longer a soft-skills exercise — it is a hard capital risk factor.

What Happened

In July, The Times-Tribune reported on a developer's plan to build a hyperscale data center campus on land in Old Forge, Pennsylvania. Hyperscale facilities are large-scale, high-density computing campuses that require substantial power, water, and land resources — characteristics that frequently trigger local scrutiny.

More recently, the same land came back into public focus when a community forum was organized against a borehole project proposed on or near the site. Residents raised environmental concerns, with the borehole project serving as a flashpoint that crystallized broader opposition to the data center concept itself.

The intersection of the borehole project and the data center proposal has created a compounding opposition dynamic: two separate infrastructure concerns, linked by geography, are being absorbed by local stakeholders as a single threat. That framing makes community relations substantially harder to manage.

Source: The Times-Tribune

Why This Matters

Community opposition at the pre-permit stage is the highest-leverage point for blocking or delaying infrastructure projects. Once a community forum is organized and local media is covering opposition, developers face a materially longer path to approval — regardless of whether the underlying zoning technically permits the use.

Old Forge is not an isolated case. Across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, hyperscale data center proposals are running into exactly this pattern: projects that clear initial site feasibility face sustained local pushback during public comment periods, zoning hearings, and environmental review. The borehole project adds a distinct environmental dimension that regulators will be required to address, independent of the data center question.

The risk is contagion. When one high-profile opposition effort succeeds — or even visibly delays a project — it emboldens similar efforts in neighboring municipalities. Developers and investors evaluating sites in northeastern Pennsylvania should treat this episode as a leading indicator of the regulatory climate, not an outlier.

Power & Interconnection Impact

Hyperscale data centers are among the largest single-site power consumers in the grid interconnection queue. A facility of this type would require significant megawatt capacity — Industry context: facilities in this class typically range from 100 MW to 500 MW or more at full build-out — placing substantial demand on regional transmission infrastructure and local substation capacity.

If community opposition delays or derails the Old Forge proposal, the interconnection capacity that would have been reserved for this project does not simply disappear. It either remains unallocated or gets absorbed by competing applicants in PJM's queue. Either outcome reshuffles resource planning assumptions for the region.

The borehole opposition adds an indirect grid complexity: if environmental review determines that subsurface conditions at the site require additional study or mitigation, construction timelines slip, and any associated interconnection application faces a corresponding risk of withdrawal or deferral.

Land, Zoning & Permitting Impact

The Old Forge situation illustrates a structural vulnerability in data center site selection: zoning that technically permits large commercial or industrial uses does not guarantee a smooth permitting path when community opposition is organized and vocal. Municipal officials facing electoral pressure will often slow-walk approvals, request additional studies, or support zoning amendments that effectively restrict the use.

Permitting complexity is likely to increase in this submarket. A well-organized community forum creates a public record that any future applicant — for this site or adjacent parcels — will have to address. Environmental review tied to the borehole project could trigger cumulative impact analysis that extends timelines well beyond standard review periods.

Developers active in Pennsylvania should monitor whether Old Forge or neighboring municipalities respond to this opposition by initiating zoning text amendments, development moratoria, or new conditional use requirements for data centers. That regulatory response — not the opposition itself — is the durable land risk.

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Investment Takeaway

The Old Forge dynamic carries direct read-through for capital allocators underwriting data center site acquisition and development in northeastern Pennsylvania and similar community-dense markets.

Community sentiment is a due diligence input, not an afterthought. Investors should require developers to demonstrate pre-submission stakeholder engagement before committing acquisition capital.
Borehole and environmental study risk can cascade into project-level delays. Subsurface work that triggers public opposition extends timelines and increases carrying costs on land positions.
Hyperscale does not equal low risk. The scale that makes these facilities attractive to investors also makes them visible targets for opposition. Larger footprint, larger political surface area.
Adjacent parcel value is contingent. Landowners holding parcels near the proposed site should assess whether opposition activity affects their entitlement prospects before pricing or transacting.
Assumption: Projects that fail to clear community opposition in this cycle may return in a revised form — smaller scale, different use framing, or with a community benefit agreement attached. Investors should evaluate optionality accordingly.

InfraSale Market Angle

For developers actively sourcing sites in Pennsylvania, Old Forge is a case study in what happens when site selection outpaces community strategy. The land may check every technical box — acreage, proximity to transmission, industrial zoning — and still face a sustained opposition campaign that reprices the project's risk profile entirely.

Developers evaluating powered land in the region should prioritize sites where local government is proactively supportive, not merely permissive. The difference between a municipality that welcomes data center investment and one that tolerates it on paper is measured in months of delay and six figures of additional carry cost.

InfraSale users sourcing or listing sites in Pennsylvania should cross-reference active zoning activity and any pending community hearings as part of standard site qualification. A parcel without a clear community engagement plan is an underwritten site, not a ready site.

Market Signal

Location: Old Forge, PA
Primary Issue: Community opposition to data center development
Infrastructure Theme: Zoning challenges
Who Benefits: Local residents and environmental advocates
Who's at Risk: Developers and investors in data center projects
InfraSale Takeaway: Engage with local communities to assess risks and navigate zoning challenges.

Take Action

Community opposition events like the Old Forge forum are early signals that reshape site values and permitting timelines across entire submarkets. Developers and landowners who act on that signal early — before a formal opposition record is established — hold a material advantage over those who wait for zoning decisions to force their hand. Connect with developers actively sourcing sites like this.

FAQ

What are the primary concerns of the Old Forge community regarding the data center?

The opposition centers on environmental issues tied to a borehole project on or near the proposed data center site. Community members have organized a public forum, indicating that concerns extend beyond the borehole itself to broader questions about the land use, industrial scale, and local impact of a hyperscale facility.

How can developers mitigate community opposition to data center projects?

Proactive engagement before applications are filed is the most effective mitigation strategy. This includes direct outreach to local officials, public information sessions that address environmental and infrastructure concerns, and — in some cases — negotiating community benefit agreements that create tangible local value in exchange for project support.

What zoning changes could affect data center development in Old Forge?

If municipal officials respond to organized opposition, the most likely regulatory moves include new conditional use requirements for large-scale data facilities, increased setback or screening standards, or a temporary development moratorium while the municipality updates its zoning code. Industry context: several northeastern Pennsylvania municipalities have initiated exactly these reviews following high-profile opposition campaigns in adjacent communities.

Does the borehole project opposition directly block the data center?

Not automatically. Opposition to the borehole project and opposition to the data center are legally distinct, even if they are politically linked. However, if environmental review of the borehole determines that subsurface conditions require mitigation, those findings could complicate site development approvals and give regulators grounds to require additional study before issuing permits for the broader campus.

Why should investors outside Old Forge pay attention to this situation?

Community opposition campaigns that gain local media coverage establish a template that spreads to neighboring municipalities. Investors evaluating data center sites in northeastern Pennsylvania — or in any community-dense market with limited prior exposure to hyperscale development — should treat this episode as a signal that permitting risk in the region is higher than baseline assumptions may reflect.