Data Centers - The Pocono Review

Warehouses across northeast Pennsylvania are converting into data centers — buildings that collected tax breaks and zoning approval as job-creating warehouses, then employ a fraction of the promised workforce once the servers move in. This outlet has traced the pattern from Stroudsburg to Clifton Township, and counted at least 16 proposed or prepared data center sites across the region.

At Core5 in Stroudsburg, officials gave contradictory answers about whether the facility even is a data center. In Clifton and Covington townships, the fight over “Project Gold” — a proposed 1,000-acre data center campus — is still working through Lackawanna County Court after a judge threw out a settlement the township’s own zoning board never agreed to.

This outlet also found that Pennsylvania’s LERTA tax abatement law has no mechanism to stop a warehouse from converting to a data center mid-abatement, and traced a pattern across multiple townships where developers appeared to shape the very ordinances meant to regulate them.

If it happens with data center development in this region and it’s of public interest, we’ll cover it — check back here to stay current.

July 20, 2026July 24, 2026Main, Wayne County

Clinton Data Center: Linde’s Wayne County Connections

by Nicole Hallman

Linde Corporation data center, Clinton Township, Wayne County PA — WVIA got the resignation, the River Reporter got the bridge offer, the Center Square got the conflict waiver. But nobody pulled the Superior Court docket on solicitor Ronald Bugaj, checked whether WEDCO board member and county planning director Craig Rickard's own wife worked for the commissioner sitting next to him, ran Forest City Energy Center LLC through a single state business registry, or asked why a fossil fuel lobbyist named Tom Shepstone was listed as Clinton Township's planning consultant while the board decided whether to regulate any of this.

July 20, 2026July 24, 2026Wayne County

Linde Data Center In Clinton Township: Full Conflict Report

by Nicole Hallman

Pocono Review's full primary-source investigation into the Linde Corporation data center proposal in Clinton Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. Documents undisclosed conflicts involving solicitor Ronald Bugaj, chairman Mark Lopatofsky, county planning director Craig Rickard, WEDCO, PPL Electric, UGI Utilities, Tom Shepstone, Kiley Associates, and power plant partner Forest City Energy Center LLC. Built from Pennsylvania Superior Court records, Clinton Township board meeting minutes, Wayne County government publications, WEDCO membership rolls, and five state business registries. Free to read and use.

July 17, 2026August 17, 2026Lackawanna County

Archbald’s Data Center Land Grab: What the Borough Kept Quiet

by Nicole Hallman

Archbald, Pennsylvania has six proposed data center campuses, four active court cases, and a borough manager who admitted in writing that he drew the zoning map from developer property lines. Here's what residents weren't told — and who knew it first.

July 7, 2026July 10, 2026Lackawanna County

Tide Turning in Clifton Data Center Fight? Barton Family Rallies Community Behind Legal Fund

by Vinnie V.

The legal fight over “Project Gold” — the proposed 1,000-acre data center campus straddling Clifton and Covington townships along Interstate 380 — has entered a new phase, and the families leading the opposition are asking the community to help fund it. For those catching up, here is a recap: Judge Mark Powell of the Lackawanna...

Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act

June 1, 2026July 19, 2026Local

The LERTA Loophole: How Tax Breaks Meant for Jobs Could End Up Subsidizing Buildings That Don’t Need Workers

by Vinnie V.

An Analysis of Pennsylvania’s Tax Abatement Program and the Warehouse-to-Data-Center Conversion Pattern That Could Exploit It Across northeast Pennsylvania, communities are approving LERTA tax abatements on massive warehouse developments. The pitch is always the same: give us a tax break and we’ll bring jobs. The school district defers revenue. The municipality defers revenue. The county...

May 22, 2026May 22, 2026Local

Are Your Local Officials Fighting Data Center Development — Or Just Pretending To?

by Vinnie V.

Who side are these Politicians on ? We’ve spent years watching the data center fight spread across northeast Pennsylvania. Fire halls packed to the walls. Church basements standing room only. People who have never been to a township meeting in their lives, showing up in red shirts, holding handmade signs, begging their elected officials to...

May 20, 2026June 16, 2026Monroe County, Wayne County

Charles Keppler and Matt Long Close the Door on Data Centers — Are Your Officials Leaving It Open?

by Vinnie V.

Opinion & Analysis · Wayne County, PA Charles Keppler and Matt Long Close the Door on Data Centers — Are Your Officials Leaving It Open? If your elected officials were serious about signaling to data centers they aren’t welcome, they would be following Pocono Township’s lead. PoconoReview.com · May 2026 A developer already showed up...

November 19, 2025April 27, 2026Technology

Counting the Data Centers Coming to the Poconos: A Community Debate

by Nicole Hallman

The Pocono Mountains region, long celebrated for its natural beauty, waterfalls, and reputation as the “Honeymoon Capital of the World,” is facing a dramatic transformation. A wave of massive data center proposals is sweeping through Monroe, Pike, Wayne, Carbon, Lackawanna, and Luzerne counties. But exactly how many data centers are we talking about? Let’s try...