Data center’s second phase expected to cost up to $2.5 billion in Lancaster County

• By Chris Reber / LNP | LancasterOnline

The public will get a chance to provide input to regulators on a Lancaster city data center’s proposed second phase, a two-story building expected to total 735,128 square feet and cost as much as $2.5 billion to build and equip.

Unlike the first phase, which is under construction, phase two will require approval from the city’s planning commission, something the developers hope to get in time to break ground next summer.

Co-developer Chirisa Technology Parks recently applied for land development approval for a second building at 216 Greenfield Road. The site of the proposed building is located between Route 30 and phase one, which is currently under construction in part of the former LSC printing plant on the site.

Phase two – which would be all new construction – could be online by mid- to late-2027, according to the developer. Artificial intelligence and cloud computing firm CoreWeave is expected to be the tenant.

Phase two’s budget includes computer equipment and is part of the $10 billion overall cost of the Lancaster AI Hub, which includes 216 Greenfield Road and another site at 1375 Harrisburg Ave.

Here’s what we know about phase two at 216 Greenfield Road:

Larger building

With two stories and a location closer to Route 30, phase two should be more visible to passersby than phase one, though its footprint is slightly smaller. Its location is currently parking lots and the front portion of the former LSC plant, which is set to be leveled.

The backup generators needed during power outages will be located mainly between the two buildings. A new PPL substation and switchyard are proposed west of the buildings, near Pitney Road, part of the upgrades to the electrical grid that the developer says it is spending $200 million to construct.

Nine acres of pavement are slated to be converted to green space, adding 284 native trees, according to the developer.

The city is currently negotiating with the developer on an agreement that could include commitments on noise, water use and air quality for both the Greenfield Road and Harrisburg Pike sites. The developer has already pledged to keep the noise from 216 Greenfield Road neutral for surrounding properties, and to comply with state and federal air quality regulations. Recent filings with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission showed that the Greenfield Road and Harrisburg Pike sites will each use no more than 20,000 gallons per day, significantly less than the former LSC printing plants that operated on the sites.

Future public meeting

Before they can begin construction on phase two, the developers need land development approval from the city’s planning commission. Phase one did not, because it uses the footprint of an existing building. Neither phase requires zoning hearing board approval under the current zoning ordinance.

The plans are currently being reviewed by city staff. Once they are finished, the commission will schedule a public meeting where the developers can present the plans, commissioners can ask questions and the public can comment.

If the commissioners determine that the plans comply with all provisions of the city’s subdivision and land development ordinances, they are required to approve the project.

Will new data center rules apply?

Lancaster City Council is currently considering stricter rules, which it hopes to enact by year’s end by amending the city’s zoning ordinance. The city’s planning bureau is reviewing phase two under the existing ordinance. The city’s director of community planning and economic development, who oversees the planning bureau, has said that the city has “no definitive legal position” on whether the proposed centers will have to comply with the amendment if and when council passes it.