Switch Big Beaver data center campus (former Pitt Race track)
Also called: Big Beaver Data Center / Switch PIT 01-03, Pitt International Race Complex site, BeaveRun
Switch wants to build three large data center buildings on the old Pitt Race track land in Big Beaver Borough. The borough changed its zoning in 2025 to allow it, and plans were filed in August 2026. Many neighbors oppose it and worry about their private wells.
Where things stand: Switch filed land development plans with the borough in August 2026. Borough had already changed zoning in September 2025 to allow data centers. Planning and council votes still to come.
🕒 Latest update (Aug 24, 2026): Switch filed plans for three buildings of about 201,690 square feet each, with 270 megawatts of backup generators. First phase could open January 2028; all three by January 2030.
Big Beaver Borough Planning Commission. Anyone can come and speak.
What we know
- 📍 WhereFormer Pitt International Race Complex, 201 Penndale Road, near Wampum, Big Beaver, Beaver County
- 🏢 CompanySwitch (site bought by Provident affiliate Wampum I LLC)
- 🏛️ Owned bySwitch
- 🌳 Size382 acres
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromElectric grid (FirstEnergy / Penn Power). A new FirstEnergy switching station would connect to the 345,000-volt power lines already on the site.
- 🗼 New power linesNo
- 💧 WaterPublic water and sewer service (company filing); water supplier not named · 9,000 gallons a day
- ❄️ CoolingClosed-loop water cooling (company says it limits fresh water use)
- 🛢️ Diesel generatorsBackup generators with a combined 270 megawatts, per filed documents
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- When will the Big Beaver planning commission and borough council vote on the land development plan? 🙋 I'll find out
- How much electricity will the campus use? 🙋 I'll find out
- Where will water come from, and could it affect private wells nearby? 🙋 I'll find out
- How many diesel generators make up the 270 megawatts of backup power, and how often will they be tested? 🙋 I'll find out
- Who is the tenant? 🙋 I'll find out
- Was a secret deal (NDA) signed with the borough? 🙋 I'll find out
- Will Switch ask for a tax break? 🙋 I'll find out
- How much water will Switch need to fill its closed-loop cooling system at the start, and which water authority will supply it? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- Sept 16, 2025Big Beaver Borough Council passed Ordinance 245, letting data centers be built in its commercial district.
- Oct 2025Race track owners announced it would close.
- June 29, 2026Nearly 100 residents met at the Big Beaver fire hall to oppose the plan, raising worries about wells, noise, traffic and property values.
- Aug 2026Switch's plans filed with Big Beaver say the campus would connect to public water and sewer and use about 9,000 gallons of water a day in normal operation. Cooling water would recirculate in a closed loop; the amount needed to fill the system first is not listed.
- Aug 24, 2026Switch filed plans for three buildings of about 201,690 square feet each, with 270 megawatts of backup generators. First phase could open January 2028; all three by January 2030.
Local votes and rules
🗺️ Zoning change
Big Beaver council passed Ordinance 245, changing zoning so data centers are allowed in a commercial district. Switch has since proposed a data center campus at the former Pittsburgh International Race Complex, drawing a crowd of about 100 opponents in June 2026.
Drag the slider to compare the land before and now.
Where this comes from
- Switch Files Plans For Data Center Campus At Former Pittsburgh Race Track · Baxtel · Aug 24, 2026
- Switch: Big Beaver PIT 02 · Baxtel
- Big Beaver locals revolt over billion-dollar data hub plan · Hoodline · June 30, 2026
- PA DEP Data Center Permit Tracker · Pennsylvania DEP · Oct 6, 2026
- Shuttered Pennsylvania racetrack site enters review for 3-building data center campus (citing the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) · The Cool Down · Aug 22, 2026
- Switch Announces New Data Center Campus in Beaver County, Pennsylvania · Switch · April 30, 2026
- Letter re: Application of Switch, Inc. (Oct. 2, 2026) · Big Beaver Borough (posted) · Oct 2, 2026
- Borough Meeting Notice (Ordinance No. 250, Oct. 20, 2026) · Big Beaver Borough · Sept 25, 2026
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