Springdale Gym Erupts As Data Center Developers Backpedal On Cheswick Plan

On Wednesday night in Springdale, the team behind the proposed data center at the former Cheswick Generating Station stepped into a packed borough gym and tried to convince a skeptical crowd that they are already changing course. Developers said resident feedback has pushed them to adjust parts of their redevelopment plan, and they left neighbors with specific promises on noise, access, and screening. Plenty of people walked out still unconvinced.

The development team ran the open house from 5 to 8 p.m. on June 10 at the Springdale Borough Building gymnasium, according to a project announcement from Dynamo DC. Project representatives told residents that the latest wave of public input led them to tweak site access and screening plans, a point later covered by WPXI.

Developers Say They’re Tweaking Plans

One clear recommendation from earlier review came from the planning commission, which urged developers to move heavy vehicle access away from the residential stretch of Duquesne Avenue and to tighten noise controls, Axios Pittsburgh reported. At the open house, project teams told neighbors they had “tasked our engineers with not only meeting the industrial site requirements but we are confident we can exceed them,” and said they would conduct noise and water-use studies as part of revised plans, according to reporting on the meeting.

Project Size and Power Needs

The proposal calls for a roughly 565,000-square-foot main building plus about 200,000 square feet of ancillary service and cooling facilities on a parcel of about 47 acres, figures that surfaced during the permitting process. The developer paid roughly $14.3 million for the former Cheswick site, according to coverage at the time. Developer materials describe the campus as capable of delivering up to 240 megawatts of capacity, though earlier consultant filings referenced a baseline closer to 180 MW as design work continues, according to the Pittsburgh Post‑Gazette.

Why Neighbors Remain Wary

Local advocates argue that borough ordinances were never written with hyperscale data centers in mind, leaving open questions about round-the-clock noise, long-term water demand, and potential strain on the local electricity system. The environmental group Protect PT has organized residents and public briefings, and prior reporting has captured heated testimony from people who worry this project could echo earlier industrial booms that left nearby communities to deal with the fallout. Coverage of planning and council sessions shows neighbors pressing for enforceable guarantees on noise limits, visual screening, and concrete community benefits.

Approval, Legal Stakes and What Comes Next

Springdale Borough Council approved a conditional-use permit for the project in a 5-2 vote last December, with borough officials saying state law limited their discretion. That constraint helped drive council members to attach specific conditions to the approval, according to local reporting. WTAE notes that the developer must now submit a land-development plan and return to the borough for additional approvals and public hearings.

Developers told attendees they will keep holding community briefings and adjusting designs as they refine engineering studies and assemble the land-development package. Organizers and many neighbors, for their part, say they plan to keep pressing for binding commitments on noise, water use, and community benefits. Local reporting and updates from advocacy groups suggest this fight is nowhere near over and is likely to flare up again as the project heads into the next rounds of permitting and review.