Plans for the proposed data center in Springdale look much different than they did in December.
That’s when Springdale Council approved a conditional use application by developers to build the massive project in the 47-acre plot previously occupied by the coal-fired Cheswick Generating Station.
But developers from Allegheny DC Property Co. — now rebranded Dynamo DC — returned to the borough with a design they say better reflects suggestions from residents and a changing technological landscape.
Still, many residents remain skeptical.
Here’s a detailed look at the changes to the project:
The structure
Developers’ designs now call for one consolidated building rather than a separate data center and mechanical cooling plant, which was proposed during the conditional use period.
The building would measure about 652,000 square feet and stand about 75 feet tall, including rooftop equipment.
Diesel backup generators — which have proved a point of contention among residents throughout the project — would now sit along the sides of the structure in double-stacked acoustic cages rather than on the building’s roof.
Developers are calling for 124 generators, up from the initial figure of 116. The generators would only be active for extended periods in the case of a power outage, but each would require testing once a month.
Renderings of what developers envision the building to look like also changed significantly.
Previous designs showed a gray, boxy center, but updated renderings display a brown-rust colored building with glass features.
The roof of the new design, rather than backup generators, now features 120 rooftop chillers, which are responsible for cooling the water used in the building’s closed-loop cooling system.
The plot
New designs call for the site’s main entrance to be on Pittsburgh Street, Springdale’s main thoroughfare, instead of the previously designated Duquesne Avenue.
The main entrance would welcome both truck traffic and personal vehicles of employees and visitors.
Trucks would be directed to the right, traveling around the center to its four loading docks.
Other vehicles would be directed to the left to a 140-space parking lot, part of which would be covered with overhead solar panels.
The panels would be used to power onsite lighting, according to project spokesman Brian Regli.
Those lights would meet the standards of the City of Pittsburgh’s “Dark Sky Ordinance,” meaning all the LED lights at the site would be downward facing or otherwise shielded or dimmed unless required for security reasons.
St. Mark’s Cemetery and the Harwick Miners Memorial, located within the plot, would be accessed via a side road from Duquesne Avenue, which would feature another 60 parking spaces.
Aside from the main structures, developers say they plan to plant more than 600 trees and shrubs around the center and place a pollinator garden beneath the development’s power lines.
In addition to improvements to St. Mark’s Cemetery, developers say they will redesign the Springdale VFW Memorial at the corner of Pittsburgh and Porter streets.
The entire plot would be encircled by an 8-foot security fence different from the wall that currently surrounds the land.
The issues
Noise, energy demand, water use and pollution from fossil fuels have been among the most pressing concerns for residents. Developers say they are taking a swing at each.
Within their acoustic cages, generators would generate noise hovering around 50-55 decibels at Pittsburgh and Porter streets during regular operations and routine generator testing, according to developers. That’s about the equivalent to a household refrigerator hum.
During power outages — when all of the backup generators would be active — that figure would jump to the 60-65 decibel range, according to developers — something more like a dishwasher.
That’s down from an estimate upward of 85 decibels during the conditional use period, when generators were proposed on the building’s roof.
Projected energy demand is headed up, though.
Developers previously cited the figure of 180 megawatts, but Regli said that could jump to as high as 330 megawatts — which could power about 275,000 homes.
The site’s planned water cooling system remains unchanged.
The center would use a closed-loop water system that cycles water through rooftop chillers to interior data halls to cool the site’s numerous server racks.
Developers claim the site would use less than 10,000 gallons of water a day — significantly less than the site’s former power plant — and would not release evaporated water into the air.
Plans still call for diesel generators rather than natural gas backups, as some residents suggested.
But developers said they intend to place selective catalytic reduction systems on the generators to reduce emissions and comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 pollutant reduction standards, the agency’s strictest.
The brand
Among the most notable changes to the project is its branding.
Rather than the more informational “Springdale Data Center,” developers are referring to the center as the “Springdale Dynamo.”
It’s a reference to the Dynamo moniker of the Allegheny Valley School District, which itself pays homage to the borough’s industrial history.
Though the company will continue to be known officially as Allegheny DC Property Co., its branding now refers to the firm as Dynamo DC.
The project also has a new team of experts and consultants.
Much of the design work previously was done by Texas-based engineering firm Jacobs Solutions, but developers have since dropped the company.
International construction giant Turner Construction, which maintains a Pittsburgh office, has stepped in.
Regli said he and Turner collaborated to select several additional firms, including Pittsburgh-based Mascaro Construction and Babich Acoustics, Moon Township-based Civil and Environmental Consultants, Ohio-based architecture firm Woolpert Inc. and New York engineering heavyweight JB&B.
That’s in addition to Atlanta-based structural engineers Bennett and Pless, New York-based light designers Lightbox Studios, Texas-based Trinity Consultants and London-based data center experts Vipa Digital.
The project remains financially backed by New York hedge fund Davidson Kempner, and Pittsburgh-based law firm Babst Calland continues to represent Allegheny DC.
The future
The project is now in its land development phase, which will involve Allegheny County officials examining the proposal ahead of any construction.
Regli confirmed Allegheny DC intended to deliver its preliminary land development application to the county Thursday. It’s unclear when the county would hold its first meeting, but Regli said he hopes hearings will be concluded by the end of the year.
After that, the company would have to submit a final land development plan and acquire various permits from entities including the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Allegheny County Health Department.
Regli hopes construction can begin sometime next year.
The center, Regli said, would be activated in four stages by dividing the structure into quadrants. At least the initial phases would be designed around chip maker NVIDIA’s recently released Vera Rubin platform, which is designed for AI supercomputing.
Allegheny DC, however, still does not have any prospective tenants, Regli said.
As for local opposition, organizer Tom Bailey said residents plan to meet at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 13 at Rachel Carson Park in Cheswick. From there, they’ll walk up South Duquesne Avenue and along Pittsburgh Street to rally near the front entrance to the property.
Bailey said the group, which has met informally at a local pizzeria for months, hopes to regularly rally throughout the land development process.