Data center developers withdraw applications for King of Prussia project amid lawsuits over zoning dispute
MLP Ventures and developer Brian O'Neill withdrew applications for a five-building data center campus in King of Prussia after Upper Merion Township rejected the project and its zoning appeals faced jurisdictional challenges. The developers have sued the township over its updated data center regulations, while residents continue to oppose the project over energy, water, environmental, noise and property-value concerns.
MLP Ventures and Brian O'Neill withdrew seven applications that were scheduled for review by the Upper Merion Township Zoning Hearing Board, canceling a planned hearing on their proposed five-data-center, 4.5-million-square-foot campus in King of Prussia. The township's Board of Supervisors rejected all five facilities in August after the planning commission declined to recommend three of them, citing inadequate information about community and environmental impacts and noncompliance with stricter zoning rules adopted in March.
The developers have filed lawsuits in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas challenging the township's updated zoning laws, arguing that their applications should be evaluated under the prior rules. Residents and the group Upper Merion Against Data Centers have organized strong opposition, citing projected energy and water use, noise, light pollution and effects on property values; an online petition opposing the project collected more than 18,000 signatures. The withdrawal leaves the project's future dependent largely on the ongoing litigation, while MLP Ventures pursues a separate, smaller proposal in nearby Plymouth Township.