Mountain Valley buyer has ties to data centers, ICE

PNK Group, a New York City-based warehouse developer with Russian roots, recently purchased the Mountain Valley Golf Course and surrounding land in Ryan Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The purchase, consisting of 12 parcels, followed the Ryan Township supervisors' decision in February to rezone portions of the property from residential to industrial. While PNK Group stated there are "no plans to develop a data center at this location," they confirmed their intention to transform the site into a future industrial park. However, PNK Group has concrete plans for data center development at another Pennsylvania property in Allenwood, Union County, located about 90 minutes northwest of Pottsville. At an open house on April 2, PNK shared plans for "up to four data centers" at its Allenwood site. This includes one in an already constructed, nearly 500,000-square-foot warehouse and three others in yet-to-be-built industrial buildings. The Allenwood data center proposal has sparked significant local concern and opposition. Residents attended the April 2 meeting to voice their objections, and a Facebook group, "No Data Centers in Allenwood, PA," quickly garnered over 370 members. The current zoning ordinance for Gregg Township, where Allenwood is situated, does not permit data centers, leading PNK to apply for an amendment, with a hearing scheduled for May 4. The article also notes PNK Group's involvement in other industrial projects, including its ties to the Department of Homeland Security's Detention Reengineering Initiative, where it constructed and sold a warehouse in Social Circle, Georgia, that was subsequently used as an ICE detention center. PNK Group maintains that its interactions with government entities are limited to standard real estate transactions.