(Click on image above for WHYY ‘s First segment on The Data Centers project)
Work to clear concrete from the site of the proposed Data Centers project has been authorized by the City of Newark, with opponents of the project claiming the permit was improperly issued.
The city issued a demolition permit to 1743 Holdings LLC, the University of Delaware entity that is developing the STAR campus site, the former Chrysler assembly plant. DePaul and Co., a contractor with a mailing address in King of Prussia, Pa., will remove the concrete and keep a construction trailer at the site. 1743 Holdings paid more than $5,000 for the permits.
Maureen Roser, city planning director, told the Newark Post the demolition work would have taken place at the site regardless of the status of the Data Centers project, which is the subject of a bitter dispute with Residents Against the Newark Power Plant.
That did not stop Residents Against the Power Plant from demanding that the permits be withdrawn for what they deemed as a serious zoning error. In a posting, the group said the zoning designation was listed as MI (general industrial). The zoning for the property is in fact STC (science technology campus).
Roser responded to the letter from the group by writing that the error was due to a changeover in a computer program. However, the incorrect designation made no difference since the permit would be valid for either zoning category.
The city’s Board of Adjustment earlier ruled that the city was within its rights to grant conditional zoning for the project that could potentially carry a price tag of $1.1 billion. However, a final decision has not been released, since the board delayed its April meeting until late in the month. Opponents took heart on news of the delay.
Kent Grant, a spokesman for the Data Centers, says the delay is understandable and management of the start-up company based in West Chester, Pa. looks forward to moving the project forward and bringing jobs to Delaware.
The project will still need environmental permits from the state and foes have rolled out data that indicates the proposed natural gas-fired power plant causing more pollution than the former occupant, the Chrysler Newark Assembly Plant. Their latest finding tabulated the number of residents with respiratory conditions, claiming the power plant would make those conditions worse.
Opponent have also taken the Data Centers to task for not showing the required height for smokestacks shown in renderings released by the Data Centers. Also planned is a presence at the University of Delaware as prospective students and their parents visit the campus on April 12 and 19.
The concrete slab of the plant, the largest Chrysler site when it closed, covered much of the 275-acre site that is now the University of Delaware STAR Campus. A part of the slab was demolished and recycled to make way for the Bloom Energy fuel cell plant at the site.
The opposition to the Data Centers project is being led by Jen Wallace, who was the campaign manager for Amy Roe, who unsuccessfully ran for the post of Newark mayor. Roe has also been active in the effort as well as an unsuccessful effort to oppose environmental permits for the Delaware City Refinery.
Roe told the Post she sought information on the demolition permits because of environmental concerns.
Installation of properly designed and oriented Wind Turbines along the MarPennDel Arc could not only generate additional “Green Energy” but could divert particulate and other pollutants across lines into Cecil and Chester Counties thereby satisfying the residents of Newark. There is always a solution if only people would search hard enough.
The Board of Adjustment has not formally ruled on the appeal of the zoning certification. As announced at the March 19 hearing, the decision will not be final until the Board votes on and issues its written report.
The April meeting of the Board, which would have been the earliest opportunity for the release of their report on this appeal, was cancelled without explanation. (http://cityofnewarkde.us/Calendar.aspx?EID=1697)
Thank you for the post. This is made clear in the most recent update of the story. However, it is unlikely to have any bearing on the final outcome. The meeting will be held late this month. – Doug Rainey
I am a staunch supporter of the $1 billion dollar data center project. And I been saying this since Sep 3 2013 “Thank you Mr. Kern for bringing this BILLION dollar project not to PA.,NJ.,MD., Mexico, India, China or Greece but right here in DELAWARE. if just 30% OF THE 1 billion dollars goes into wage over the 3 yr construction period that 100 million dollar a yr. That a 1,000 men and woman making $100,000.00 a yr. That me going to Cleveland Ave. and buying a new car. That me going to College Sq, shopping center and getting all new appliances from Sears Hardware, that me getting a DEL. contractor to put a new roof on my house. That me going down to the DEL. beaches for 2 wks. vacation to work on my TAN. And that me sending my son to the U of Del with out the need of student loans NOW TIMES THAT BY 1,000. i
Folks, Spending the last 30 years in IT (Information Technology), I can tell you one thing for sure. The type of Data Center being propsed in Newark is huge for the state of Delawre. It’s all about the newtwork. Being right off of country’s major Fiber Optics network (I95) is a must. You folks use a smart phone? According to IDC, the number of devices or things that can be connected to the Internet is approaching 200-billion today, with 7% (or 14-billion) already connected to and communicating over the Internet. The data from these connected devices represents 2% of the world’s data today. IDC now forecasts that by 2020 the number of connected devices will grow to 32-billion – representing 10% of the world’s data. The emergence of wireless technologies, smart products and software-defined businesses are playing a central role in catapulting the volume of the world’s data. Due, in part, to this Internet of Things, the digital universe is doubling in size every two years and will multiply 10-fold between 2013 and 2020 – from 4,4-trillion gigabytes to 44-trillion gigabytes.
This is exactly what Delaware needs. Please Support data Centers.