Raw nerves over the University of Delaware decision to terminate a lease with the Data Centers project have been exposed as a suit was filed by developers of the project in Superior Court.
The suit led to concern among organized labor and legislators about the university’s actions and calls for an investigation, the News Journal reported.
The 66-page lawsuit claims UD sabotaged the effort of the Data Centers and lied to the public.
The Data Centers, a company based in Pennsylvania, faces lawsuits over unpaid bills in the failed effort to build the $1 billion project that would have included a controversial natural gas fired power plant that drew fierce opposition.
The university, through spokeswoman Andrea Boyle Tippett, issued the following statement:
The University of Delaware does not comment on pending litigation, but we can say that we stand behind our evaluation process and the final decision on The Data Centers project.
On July 10, 2014, the University of Delaware announced that it had terminated its lease agreement with The Data Centers, LLC (TDC), putting a halt to TDC’s plans to develop a data center on the University’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus.
The University exercised full diligence in reviewing The Data Centers’ plans and determined that they were not a good fit for the STAR Campus. A thorough analysis by the UD Working Group, composed of UD faculty and administrative leaders, concluded that the proposed facility was not consistent with a first class science and technology campus and high quality development to which UD is committed. The review included discussion among faculty, students, environmental groups, neighbors and others about the project.
It is extremely important that development on the STAR Campus, which is held to the highest standards, is appropriate both for the short and the long term, and that future generations of students will have a top-quality education.
The campaign against the Data Centers included demonstrations at times when prospective students and parents were visiting the Newark campus and extensive use of social media and other tools that showed the plant belching plumes of steam and posing a safety hazards.
Those concerns were eased a bit when technology company SevOne announced plans to move its headquarters to the STAR Campus
The opposition and UD’s decision led to fears that companies would stay away from Newark for fear of meeting opposition from the same forces that opposed the Data Centers project.
Organized labor was also upset by a letter from opposition leader Amy Roe that indicated construction workers working at the project would pose a danger to female students.
Opponents stood by Roe, who took a less visible role in the opposition from that point forward.
Absorbing the costs of the litigation over the zoning are taxpayers in the City of Newark. The city has received no reimbursements from the University of Delaware following its decision to terminate the lease.
Click here for other stories on the Data Centers saga.
