Amid ongoing data center fight in King of Prussia, this developer is eyeing another Montco town
Developer Brian O’Neill has applied to build a three-story data center on a former quarry site in West Conshohocken, where the proposal is in the early stages of land-use review. He is also appealing Upper Merion Township’s rejection of a larger campus and seeking approval for another facility in Plymouth Township, amid opposition over environmental, infrastructure, and quality-of-life concerns.
Developer Brian O’Neill submitted a conditional-use application for a proposed three-story data center on a 60-acre former quarry and industrial site along Front Street in West Conshohocken. Borough Manager Doug Borgerson said the project remains in the early stages of land-development and conditional-use review, with future public meetings to be advertised. The borough’s data center ordinance allows such facilities in heavy industrial zones if they meet requirements involving noise, lighting, landscaping, power generation, and other impacts.
O’Neill is simultaneously pursuing data center projects in neighboring Upper Merion and Plymouth Townships. Upper Merion supervisors unanimously rejected his proposed 4.6 million-square-foot campus, but his attorney, Marc Kaplin, said broader appeals remain active. In Plymouth Township, O’Neill is seeking a special exception for a 2 million-square-foot facility at a former steel mill, while the township zoning board continues its evidentiary hearings. Montgomery County was granted party status because it owns the nearby Ivy Rock Quarry. Residents have raised concerns about pollution, noise, electricity costs, property values, and quality of life, while O’Neill says the facilities would use closed-loop cooling, generate their own power, and create jobs and tax revenue.