The developer behind the Project Gravity Data Center in Archbald plans to submit final land development plans "imminently."
That’s according to Erik Draaisma, executive vice president of business development for Corscale, which now owns the land.
“We have great confidence in the developability of this site,” he said.
Draaisma was in the audience Tuesday during a Digital Infrastructure Panel hosted by Luzerne County Community College at its Scranton campus.
Corscale’s Daniel Brewster, senior project director, construction, management, and Charul Seoni, senior vice president of data center operations, sat on the panel.
The discussion focused on what’s needed to develop a skilled workforce for careers within digital infrastructure industries, like data centers. They talked about apprenticeships, higher education opportunities and the industry’s needs.
"This isn't a one-of-us problem at this table. This is an all-of-us problem. And if we don't collectively get together and all of us solve it, we're going to be missing out on probably the single most important generational growth that our commonwealth has ever seen,” said Warren Faust, president of the NEPA Building Trades.
College presidents John Yudachak, Luzerne County Community College, and Jill Muray, Lackawanna College, as well as Bill Burke, Vice President of Enrollment and Student Success at Johnson College, sat on the panel.
“The shortage is detrimental to the Pennsylvania economy. We have so much opportunity with data centers, with technology, with trades. We have a tremendous opportunity here to do something really special in terms of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania workforce on the defense side, on the technology side,” Murray said.
Who is Corscale?
After the panel, WVIA News sat down with Draaisma.
Corscale runs three data centers in Northern Virginia with two under construction. Draaisma said the company has six projects across the country in active pre-development, including Project Gravity.
"The way this works is we are owner, operator, and developer, and then we will have a hyperscale tenant who then puts their equipment inside the data center that we operate on their behalf,” he said.
Project Gravity was principally permitted under Archbald's previous zoning rules and did not have to go through the borough's conditional use process for zoning approval. The land was owned by Western Hospitality Partners, operating as Archbald Developer 25 LLC.
Draaisma said Corscale has owned the property since late 2025.
Archbald 25 Developer LLC sold the property to US Gravity Purchaser LLC on Dec. 23, according to a Lackawanna County deed. Gravity Purchaser is associated with Affinius Capital from San Antonio, Texas, which is Corscale’s investment partner.
Draaisma said Corscale is in active and serious conversations with a hyperscale tenant.
Hyperscalers require massive infrastructure for data processing and storage, like cloud computing.
The campus’ current plan remains in place — five one-story buildings and two two-story buildings, he said. But that eventual tenant will drive a lot of the design decisions, he said, including water usage.
"In this particular case, the path that we're on is closed-loop cooling," he said.
Closed-loop cooling recycles water throughout a system and industry experts say it uses less water than other systems.
Draaisma also said they plan to use a fraction of the diesel-powered backup generators allowed on site.
Adhering to standards
Draaisma said Archbald’s zoning requirements are strict and that they will operate within those rules.
Corscale is also the parent company of Patrinely Group, a major commercial real estate developer.
"We have a big reputation to protect. So staying within those ordinances is how we do business,” he said.
WVIA News asked Draaisma about Gov. Josh Shapiro’s GRID Standards — short for the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development — which force data center developers to comply with new planning and operating standards.
"There was nothing in there that really caught us off guard, and nothing in there that we weren't already planning on doing," he said.
The governor was in Scranton on Friday. When asked about data centers, he said the “genesis” of his executive order was listening to Pennsylvanians across the state.
"There was one community in particular that had probably the most impact on my thinking on this issue, and that was the community of Archbald,” he said. “When I saw and listened to local leaders feel as though they were getting bulldozed by developers and that they were losing power to these big, powerful corporate interests, I said no way, and so we rebalanced that equation.”
Gravity was removed from the PA Permit Fast Track Program in May. Shapiro then kicked off all data center developments from that program when he signed the executive order establishing GRID in August.
Project Gravity is one of six data center campuses planned for the borough.
Acknowledging anger
Project Gravity was one of the first data center campus proposed in Archbald and among the most controversial because of its proximity to 18 homes and the Valley View Estates mobile home park.
Draaisma said the site design will make sure that most of the operations are moved away and set back from the northeast corner of the property, where a majority of the homes are located.
He acknowledged that data centers have become an emotional topic in Archbald — and that in the case of Project Gravity, it is close to homes.
"It's something new, and it's something different, and it's something that's become easy to dislike," he said.
He said the company is here to employ people in good paying jobs with strong futures.
"This could be such a boom for the school district. This could be such a boom for the municipality, for the state in terms of tax revenues,” he said. “I'm not saying don't question development, but I am saying there's a cost to unrightfully questioning something when it's a big solution to many problems as well.”
Many residents who speak out at public meetings argue that data center campuses will diminish their quality of life, create health issues and damage the environment. And that cost is too large compared to the revenue the industry would bring to the community.
Corscale is discussing a community benefit offer, Draaisma said. The company likes to invest in local fire and rescue companies, police departments and revitalize a community.
Corscale also is interested in helping fund workforce development.
"Pennsylvania is so well positioned to capitalize on this. This is why we went big on Pennsylvania two years ago, as we started looking for opportunities and sites … but it is this big empty train sitting at the station waiting for everyone to hop on, or it's going to go," he said.
