Upper Hanover Township residents celebrate withdrawal of data center proposal as officials question developer’s intentions
Hanover Development Limited Partnership withdrew its application to build a 150,000-square-foot data center in Upper Hanover Township after organized community opposition. Township officials had adopted a data center ordinance that would have prevented the project and are now questioning the developer’s intentions, while the property owner considers a residential proposal requiring rezoning.
Hanover Development Limited Partnership withdrew its proposal for a 150,000-square-foot data center on a 37-acre parcel in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County, after months of community opposition. Residents, organized in part by the Upper Perkiomen Valley Data Center Opposition group, cited concerns about the project’s effects on the rural community. The developer acknowledged that the backlash contributed to the withdrawal.
Upper Hanover Township Manager Anne Klepfer said officials had also questioned the project’s feasibility because the plans did not account for underground gas pipelines and electrical lines. The township had adopted a data center ordinance shortly after the developer submitted its application, and officials said responding to the proposal cost about $20,000.
The developer is considering residential construction on the site, but the land is zoned for light industrial use and would require township approval for a zoning change. Klepfer suggested the data center proposal may have been intended to make a residential alternative more appealing, though she acknowledged that this was speculation. The developer did not respond to requests for comment.