A new Lehigh Valley data center is proposed in place of a million-square-foot warehouse

Yet another data center plan has been received by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

This one is for Allen Township and it proposes converting a 1 million-square-foot warehouse owned by logistics real estate company Prologis at 2500 Liberty Drive, about a half-mile from the Northampton borough line.

The LVPC's Comprehensive Planning Committee will discuss a draft letter reviewing the project during its monthly virtual meeting at noon Tuesday. If the letter to Allen Township is approved, it would be taken up by the full LVPC on Thursday evening.

The township's Board of Supervisors approved an amended preliminary/final land development plan for the project in March. The plan is to convert Prologis Lehigh Valley East 16, which was built in 2023.

The draft letter, written by LVPC Chief Community and Regional Planner Jill Seitz, noted that repurposing an industrial building is supported by Future LV, the commission's master plan. However, there were still a lot of questions about the project.

"A data center is functionally different from a warehouse, even where both may occur within an industrial setting," Seitz wrote. "A warehouse is typically defined by goods movement, truck activity, and employee parking demand, whereas a data center is defined more by electrical infrastructure, cooling systems, backup generation, security, and utility demand.

"Because of those differences, the change in use should be reviewed not only as a physical site revision, but also as a shift in operational characteristics and impacts."

The letter said the LVPC is unable to fully assess "several aspects of the proposal that are relevant to Future LV" and they should either be clarified or provided by the applicant.

Among the issues that need to be addressed, it said:

• Who would provide water service and how much would be needed for the proposed cooling system?

• Who would provide sewer service and would there be process-related wastewater?

• What would be the electrical demand?

• What is the cooling system design?

• Details on the generators and any outdoor equipment.

• Analysis for traffic, noise and emergency response coordination.

"The LVPC strongly recommends the township further refine its zoning ordinance definitions and regulations beyond this project review to clarify how data centers and similar land uses are classified under the zoning ordinance and ensure ordinance standards adequately address distinct impacts of emerging and evolving land uses," Seitz wrote.

Also on the agenda, the committee will review proposed data center ordinances from Allentown, Moore Township, Lower Nazareth Township and Lower Macungie Township.

In recent months, the LVPC reviewed data center plans for Upper Macungie and South Whitehall townships that have brought pushback from the community.

Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.

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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 12:37 PM.