Former Tonawanda Coke Plant Site in New York Slated for Major 300MW Data Center Redevelopment
April 14, 2026
A significant industrial redevelopment is taking shape near Buffalo, New York, highlighting the data center industry's push to repurpose large, complex brownfield sites with access to power and infrastructure. This trend underscores the sector's expansion challenges and its growing intersection with environmental remediation and community concerns.
According to plans submitted to the Town of Tonawanda planning board, the 140-acre Riverview Innovation and Technology Campus—the former home of the Tonawanda Coke Corp. plant—is being proposed for a massive data center development. The project, envisioned for the site at 3875 and 3800 River Road, could reach up to 300 megawatts in capacity and encompass approximately 500,000 square feet (46,450 square meters). The site has a long industrial history, used for coke manufacturing since 1917 and operated by Tonawanda Coke Corporation and its predecessors from 1978 until the plant's closure following a bankruptcy around 2018.
Developers Jon Williams and John Yensan, who acquired the property at auction in 2019 for $1, are leading the remediation through their firm Ontario Specialty Contracting. They have partnered with an unnamed data center developer for the project, which represents a potential investment of up to $2 billion. Construction could begin in late 2026, with completion targeted by the end of 2027, potentially occurring concurrently with ongoing environmental cleanup. The Town of Tonawanda confirmed the presentation of redevelopment plans for both sides of River Road, including the waterfront.
However, the project faces opposition from local environmental groups. The Clean Air Coalition of WNY is urging officials to reject the data center plan in favor of renewable energy generation and storage for the site, advocating for a "Just Transition" for the community. "They do not want to see a data center there, and they want instead to see the River Road industrial corridor as a whole utilized for unionized renewable power generation and storage," the coalition stated.
This proposed development reflects the intense demand for data center capacity in strategic regions, driving developers to undertake complex site conversions. Its progression will be a key test of balancing industrial redevelopment, economic investment, and local environmental priorities in the evolving energy landscape of Western New York.
Source: datacenterdynamics
