Developer Appeals Denial for Proposed Data Center Campus in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna County
April 15, 2026
The push to establish northeastern Pennsylvania as a significant data center hub faces another local regulatory hurdle, highlighting the tension between regional economic development ambitions and community zoning plans. A proposed two-building data center campus in Newton Township, Lackawanna County, is heading to an appeal hearing after an initial rejection by local officials.
According to reports from local press including the Times-Tribune and WVIA, Popca LLC, owned by local landowner Mark Gawron, filed plans in January to develop the facility on a 76-acre parcel along Newton Road. The project calls for two structures, each spanning 145,200 square feet (13,490 square meters), alongside an on-site electrical substation. Gawron acquired the property from the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau in 2017.
However, the township denied the application in February, citing that data centers are not a permitted use within the area's rural resource zoning district. The Newton Township Zoning Hearing Board is scheduled to hear Popca's appeal on April 27. This case mirrors challenges seen elsewhere in the county; earlier this year, officials in nearby Ransom Township denied plans for a separate six-building campus.
The appeal is a critical test for data center growth in a county experiencing a surge of proposals. Just in the borough of Archbald, also within Lackawanna County, five projects have been put forward which, at full build-out, could encompass approximately 4.7 million square feet (439,400 square meters) across 29 buildings. The concentration of these large-scale developments underscores the region's growing appeal for data center operators, potentially driven by factors such as land availability and proximity to major northeastern markets.
The outcome of the upcoming hearing will be closely watched by the industry, as it may set a precedent for how other municipalities in Pennsylvania balance zoning restrictions with the economic and infrastructural investments promised by data center developments. A successful appeal could pave the way for further expansion in Newton Township, while a denial may reinforce the power of local ordinances to shape the geography of the digital infrastructure boom.
Source: datacenterdynamics
