Salem Township supervisors voted Tuesday to expand the municipality's data center overlay district by more than 3,000 acres, clearing a path for two new proposed projects known as Salem 3 and Salem 4. The vote positions the small Luzerne County township to potentially host a $1.4 billion, 4,466-acre campus planned for up to 4 gigawatts of power demand, along with a smaller 185-acre addition next door.
The special meeting outcome was confirmed by fox56.com, which reported the board approved expanding the overlay district during the Tuesday session. According to Bisnow, the district grew from roughly 1,700 acres to nearly 5,000 acres under the board's action. The Salem 4 portion of the expansion would add about 185 acres previously zoned A1 and C1 into the overlay, per the same fox56.com report.
Behind the Salem 3 proposal is the 4-3 Glennbrook Group, which has assembled 194 families who own land within the district, Bisnow reported. The group's press release praised the district expansion, and the company says it now plans to pursue the remaining approvals needed to advance the Salem 3 campus. The Times Leader described a related figure of nearly 200 landowners with agreements to sell roughly 4,466 acres, and an earlier fox56.com report also put the number at nearly 200.
A $1.4 Billion Bet Tied to a Hospital Promise
4-3 Glennbrook is seeking to sell the Salem 3 land to a developer for $1.4 billion, according to Bisnow, a deal that would dwarf the group's prior sale of the neighboring Salem 2 land assembly to QTS Data Centers for $586 million in spring. QTS Data Centers is owned by Blackstone, Bisnow noted. A press release carried by globenewswire.com put the proposed Community Benefit Agreement at $43 million total, with $12 million proposed for a local micro-hospital.
That hospital piece carries particular weight locally. Berwick's emergency department closed in 2022, according to the Times Leader, and Bisnow reports Salem Township has had limited access to medical care ever since. The Times Leader described the proposed facility as a 24/7 stabilize-and-transfer micro-hospital with a full emergency department, with 4-3 Glennbrook providing about 42.37 acres along Route 11 for the site.
Mike Cabell, speaking for the project, said in a statement carried by Bisnow that the participating families made their decision with their children and grandchildren in mind. Cabell added that the families remained committed through meetings and questions, and that the project would benefit the community for generations.
Supporters in Orange Shirts, a Lingering Legal Fight
The vote meeting itself was notably one-sided in the room, according to the Times Leader, which reported it was attended predominantly by project supporters wearing matching orange shirts bearing the slogan “Data Center Yes!” That visible turnout came after a legal detour: Luzerne County Judge Lesa S. Gelb ruled in August that the planning commission had to hold another meeting on the zoning amendment, following residents' allegations that a July 23 planning commission session violated the state's Sunshine Act, per the Times Leader.
Globenewswire.com reported that an estimated 75% of the 4,466-acre Salem 3 site would remain as natural buffers, green space and setbacks, with developers citing a closed-loop cooling approach that would not require water extraction or wastewater disposal beyond conventional office use. The same release projected the campus could support more than 2,000 estimated jobs, though the figure remains an estimate and the Salem 3 campus still needs additional approvals beyond Tuesday's vote.
State Oversight Tightens as More Townships Cash In
Bisnow reported that Salem Township's appeal to developers rests partly on its existing infrastructure — the area already contains a nuclear power plant, a natural gas generation facility and extensive electrical infrastructure, making it, per the press release, a strong location for data center facilities. Fox56.com separately noted that Salem Township's overlay now underpins what is described as the third data center campus approved in the area, alongside a 1,200-acre Amazon Web Services campus and a 1,700-acre QTS campus already underway.
That growth has come alongside rising friction statewide. Bisnow reported that Pennsylvania has seen increasing political opposition to data centers, and that Gov. Josh Shapiro, who initially supported the industry, issued what Bisnow characterized as a restrictive executive order in August. Pennsylvania's state government confirmed Shapiro signed Executive Order 2026-05 on Aug. 18, framing it as a stronger protection and standards package touching energy affordability, transparency, workforce development and environmental protection. Bisnow added that the order requires data center operators to pay for their own power and mandates local approval before state approval, and that the Salem 3 plan complies with the executive order, according to 4-3 Glennbrook's own press release.
The benefits-agreement model playing out in Salem Township has echoes elsewhere in the state. In Dauphin County, Swatara Township Commissioner Ben Douglas moved to postpone a vote on a $120.3 million community benefits deal with Corscale Data Centers until the next meeting, according to PennLive, with that company building two complexes on Highland Street and funding joint police and fire headquarters as part of the package. A prior 1,700-acre Salem Township campus generated a $580 million payout, according to the Citizens' Voice.
