Sept. 18, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
The data center proposed for Bethlehem faces review from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission next week.
A 131,380-square-foot data center is planned for 2184 Industrial Drive, just off the Route 378 west onto Route 22. The 6.8-acre property in the Lehigh County side of Bethlehem was a Crowder Service Center.
From the LVPC agenda: “The proposed building includes two floors, consisting of approximately 65,590 square feet per floor. The plans also identify substantial electrical infrastructure associated with the facility, including a proposed substation and medium-voltage equipment area.”
Data centers support Artificial Intelligence, e-commerce and other big technology ventures. Some residents of the Lehigh Valley have objected to the centers, citing concern about electricity and water demand pushing prices up, and the potential for noise.
PPL Corp. (NYSE:PPL), the regulated utility providing electricity to the region, is in talks with data-center developers and has a billion-dollar joint venture with asset manager Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to build gas-fired generators to provide power to centers.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is in most cases an advisory body that reviews large projects and makes recommendations to developers and municipalities.
The City of Bethlehem will make the final decisions on the property. Bethlehem is working on updating its zoning ordinance to limit data centers, but a final vote might not be held until November.
The LVPC will consider the proposal at two meetings. The Comprehensive Planning Committee will meet at noon on Tuesday, Sept. 22, and the full commission will discuss the data center and other proposals at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.
The meetings will be held in-person at the LVPC, 615 Waterfront Drive in Allentown, and they are available via the Internet. Links to the meetings are available in the agenda of the committee and the full commission.
Disclosure: I own shares in PPL and in companies that develop data centers.
Lehigh Valley News Briefs 