Project Boson (Archbald)
Also called: Archbald Data & Energy Center, Highway Auto Parts junkyard site
A plan to turn an old junkyard in Archbald into a data center. It started as three buildings and was changed to one large building of about 620,000 square feet. It was filed under older zoning rules.
Where things stand: Filed under the borough's 2023 zoning, where data centers were allowed by right. No final approval found.
🕒 Latest update (Dec 2025): Plan merged into one building of about 620,000 square feet ('Project Boson').
Archbald Borough Council. We don't know yet if Project Boson (Archbald) is on the agenda. Call the office to check before you go.
What we know
- 📍 WhereFormer Highway Auto Parts junkyard on Eynon Jermyn Road, Archbald, Lackawanna County
- 🏢 CompanyPDC Realty (earlier filing by Five Up Realty LLC)
- 🌳 Size86 acres
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromOn-site substation equipment yard planned
- 👷 Jobs promised60
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- What is the current approval status? 🙋 I'll find out
- How much power and water will it use? 🙋 I'll find out
- Who is the end user? 🙋 I'll find out
🔎 What we checked
- Oct 6, 2026: We checked the Susquehanna River Basin Commission's public list of water applications: there is no water application from this project. As of mid-2026, SRBC said Amazon's Salem Township campus was the only data center it had approved. A data center needs SRBC approval before it runs if it uses up (mostly by evaporation) more than 20,000 gallons a day on a 30-day average, or takes water from its own wells or streams above SRBC limits.
What happened so far
- April 10, 2025Zoning application filed for three buildings ('Archbald Data & Energy Center').
- Dec 2025Plan merged into one building of about 620,000 square feet ('Project Boson').
Local votes and rules
📌 Other
Archbald Borough Council finished hearings on the Wildcat Ridge data center campus, which would have 14 large buildings on more than 500 acres. Council refused the developer's request that members step aside for bias. A written decision is due within 45 days of the last hearing.
✋ Turned down
Archbald Borough Council voted down a plan by Texas-based Provident Realty Advisors (Archbald 1 LLC) for a data center complex with 18 computer buildings. About 200 residents came to the special meeting to oppose it.
📌 Other
After months of complaints about how data center plans were handled, Archbald Borough Council removed its president, vice president, and president pro tem from those leadership roles. A new council president was chosen.
⚖️ Court case
Eight Archbald residents asked the county court to throw out the borough's new data center zoning law. They say the borough skipped required steps like proper notice and planning review. They also say the law lets data centers go in more places and be taller and louder.
📜 Data center rules
Archbald Borough Council voted 4-2, with one member not voting, to add data center rules to its zoning law. The rules create data center overlay zones in four areas of the borough. Many residents spoke against it, and an earlier try in October failed.
📌 Other
Archbald Borough Council met to vote on new data center zoning rules, but the plan died because no one seconded the motion. Residents saw this as a win. Council later passed the rules in November 2025.
Drag the slider to compare the land before and now.
Where this comes from
- Developer seeks to convert Archbald junkyard to data centers · The Times-Tribune (via Yahoo News) · May 15, 2025
- Data centers as 2025 newsmaker of the year · The Times-Tribune (via Yahoo News) · Dec 28, 2025
- Data Centers Are Poised to Engulf a Pennsylvania Town · DeSmog · March 11, 2026
- Officials & Government (meeting schedule) · Archbald Borough · Oct 6, 2026
- PA DEP Data Center Permit Tracker · Pennsylvania DEP · Oct 6, 2026
- Water Use by Data Centers in the Susquehanna River Basin - FAQ · Susquehanna River Basin Commission · 2026
- Water Application and Approval Viewer (WAAV) · Susquehanna River Basin Commission · Oct 6, 2026
- Overview: data center proposals in Archbald · 28/22 News (WBRE/WYOU) · March 2026
- Junkyard in Pennsylvania acquired, developer files to develop data center campus · DatacenterDynamics · 2025
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