West Conshohocken Data Center Proposal by Brian O'Neill
West Conshohocken is reviewing a conditional-use application from Innovation 411 Fee Owner, associated with developer Brian O’Neill’s MLP Ventures, for a data center and data warehouse campus on vacant industrial land. The proposal is scheduled for Planning Commission review and a Borough Council hearing, while O’Neill is also pursuing other regional projects, including one rejected by Upper Merion Township that led to a lawsuit.
West Conshohocken officials are reviewing a conditional-use application for a proposed data center and data warehouse campus on vacant industrial land along Front Street near the Upper Merion Township border. The applicant, Innovation 411 Fee Owner, LLC, is associated with developer Brian O’Neill and his company MLP Ventures. The project would include generators, HVAC equipment, switchgear, fuel cells, substations and utility infrastructure on a former quarry, cement plant and waste-disposal site.
The application is being considered under a borough ordinance that permits data centers by conditional use in heavy industrial districts. It is scheduled for review by the West Conshohocken Planning Commission, followed by a conditional-use hearing before the Borough Council. The filing does not specify the project’s power source or whether it would use water from the Schuylkill River, issues likely to be considered during review.
O’Neill is pursuing multiple data center developments in the region. Plymouth Township is reviewing a separate proposal for a 2-million-square-foot facility, while Upper Merion Township unanimously rejected a five-site complex totaling more than 4.6 million square feet. O’Neill has sued the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors over that rejection.