Community encircled by new data center developments in Salem Township

A Kansas-based data center developer, QTS, has invested over $540 million to acquire 1700 acres across 98 properties in Salem Township, Pennsylvania, for a large data center campus. This development, which will surround existing power plants and neighbor an Amazon data center, has led to approximately 100 residents selling their properties. However, not all residents in the vicinity were offered buyouts. Some homeowners, like one interviewed who lives within a cluster of 15 houses, expressed significant distress at being encircled by the data center projects without compensation. They fear being surrounded on three sides by data centers, leading to increased noise and diminished property values. A map from a consulting group involved in the buyouts reportedly shows this particular neighborhood will be fully enclosed by the new QTS development and the adjacent Amazon data center. Residents are frustrated, questioning the future desirability and market value of their homes if they are unable to sell. News Watch 16 reached out to both the consulting group and the Salem Township Supervisors for comment but did not receive a response. The segment was reported by Audie Iyer.