Nov. 12, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
Bethlehem’s first data center won approval from the city’s Planning Commission after a three-hour meeting Thursday.
Near the end of the meeting, as people in the crowd objected, the commission’s attorney said police would be called if necessary to maintain order. There was shouting and obscenity, but the audience dispersed.
Boyle Construction and Paxos Enterprises, along with data-center company Tensor IQ, plan to build at 2184 Industrial Drive, just north of Route 22 and near the Route 378 exit onto the highway. The land is in the Lehigh County section of Bethlehem, and near Hanover Township (Northampton County).
The site is zoned for industry and the data center is a permitted use. A Crowder Service Center operated there earlier. The three waivers related to driveway width
A leader of the project group that wants to put up the 130,000-square-foot, two-story center, said the team wants to be a good neighbor. The center will create about 110 jobs, according to the presentation.
“We are a local development team,” Sean Boyle of Boyle Construction said. “The Paxos family and the Boyle family have lived here our whole lives,” adding, “We want to be community-minded, we want to be friendly neighbors.”
That didn’t sway the residents who object to data centers and the Artificial Intelligence they support.
“My house is 400 feet from this proposed project,” Laurel Chuss of Bethlehem said. She asked for independent engineering and environmental-impact studies before the center is approved.
She and other residents commented on data centers’ demand for energy and water. For Chuss, noise is an issue. She said that levying a fine on noise violations won’t help.
“A fee does not isolate my house from further noise,” she said.
“What will be the true benefit to the community from this?” asked Dr. Eric Becker, who said he lives nearby. He commented on problems with Artificial Intelligence and the fear that “We’ve lost control” of the technology.
Some objectors cited global concerns, such as climate change, while others focused on local issues. The Planning Commission deals with city concerns such as sidewalks, lot coverage and driveways.
“It is exciting to have a crowd like this,” Commission Chairman Robert Melosky said at the start of the meeting. He also reminded the audience that comments should be limited to the project. He asked for decorum.
Land-use decisions are not made based on popularity, or the warehouse era would not have occurred.
The decisions are based on the law, Melosky noted.
“Data centers, they’re not new to the Lehigh Valley,” he said. TierPoint operates a center in Hanover Township (Northampton County), near the Bethlehem border.
“I believe there’s a sound planning basis to support (the data center),” Melosky said. He said Bethlehem should welcome responsible investment.
Bethlehem has updated its zoning rules on data centers since the Industrial Drive plan was proposed. The Industrial Drive project was submitted before the changes and is not subject to the new rules. The development team said its proposal meets most requirements of the revised ordinance.
Dylan Panebianco of Boyle Construction led the presentation for the developer. “We care about the community,” he said Panebianco said the center has been in the works for about two years.
The center would have three natural-gas generators to provide 20% and potentially more of the energy it will need. The developers also plan a “closed-loop” water cooling system with “zero consumption” of water, Panebianco said.
Panebianco said the center won’t have any impact on residents’ electric bills. He also said noise-level requirements will be met.
PPL Corp., which provides electricity in much of the Lehigh Valley, has also said residents and small businesses will not have to pay more even as data centers and other big users add to demand. PPL has a multi-billion-dollar joint venture with Blackstone to develop new generation plants.
Tensor IQ is based in Newark, Delaware. Its website says it can “unlock data center profitability.”
Jonathan Houk, chief executive of Tensor IQ, said at the meeting that there is a plan for “decommissioning” the center when it no longer operates.
Plans submitted include a basement with 26 cooling tanks and three generators. The two above-ground floors have space for computer equipment and nine offices.
Data centers support Artificial Intelligence, e-commerce and other high-tech industries. Residents across the Lehigh Valley have expressed concern about their potential demand for energy and water.
Matthew Deschler, the lawyer for the commission, explained to the audience that the Planning Commission must vote based on the law, not the popularity of any project.
The three waivers the commission approved for the center involved slope, driveway width and trees.
Lehigh County records say the Industrial Drive property covers 6.6 acres and is owned by Paxos Enterprises, a limited liability corporation that acquired the site in 2021 for $4.34 million.
Here is a link to the video of the meeting. Discussion of the data center starts about 35 minutes into the meeting. The meeting lasted XXXX
