Kevin Wolf, a commercial real estate broker working in Lancaster and surrounding counties, told Columbia Borough Council on Aug. 7 that a preliminary power analysis makes large data‑center development on the McGinnis property unlikely without substantial additional infrastructure.

Wolf said his in‑house consultant's power diagnosis showed local substations were effectively at capacity. He reported that "the achievement for smaller data centers ... would be around 50 megawatts" on a site of the McGinnis property's size and that obtaining a formal power allocation from the utility would be costly and slow: "I just frankly don't think it's worth the borough's time and effort to spend the money to do the power study and go down that route." (Quotation attributed to Kevin Wolf.)

Wolf said a formal, utility‑level power study could cost on the order of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars; he cited a PPL quote that his contacts described as roughly $185,000 to secure a formal diagnosis and that even with a diagnosis it can take months to learn the deliverable capacity and schedule for service.

Because that option appears constrained, Wolf urged the borough to consider other development paths. He said office campus, retail and recreational uses (such as athletic fields) are achievable alternatives that would require focused marketing, site engineering and entitlement work. Wolf also said that smaller recreational or destination retail uses could be viable if the borough can make the site available at a competitive price point.

Wolf described interest from several developer groups: a larger firm active in data‑center and industrial development, a smaller Philadelphia‑based developer working in nearby states, and a local entitlement developer that could ready a site and sell to a larger institutional buyer. He said some retail interest had surfaced in the $2 million–$3 million purchase range.

Wolf recommended the borough weigh the costs and time required for a full power study against other near‑term options, and suggested targeted marketing to potential office, retail and recreational users. No formal council action was taken during the workshop; members said they would consider Wolf's assessment and possible next steps.