Developers pitch 300,000-square-foot data center for Bories property in Greenwich Township

Developers representing Greystone Capital and Russo Development presented a request to the Greenwich Township Committee to rezone the Bories property (Block 36 Lots 1, 1.01 and 1.0) or to allow data-processing facilities as a permitted use in the current RO district. Attorney Steve Gruenberg opened the presentation and said the applicants were seeking the committee—s consideration before pursuing formal land-use steps: "we presented to you ... a request for this meeting and we really appreciate the opportunity to come to you because ... The proposal here makes sense for this particular piece of property," he said.

L Pector of Greystone Capital described the site's transmission advantages and the developer—s interest in partnering with an experienced data-center operator. He told the committee the proposed use would generate "no truck traffic and not a lot of employee traffic either but it does generate very high rateable" value per square foot compared with many other commercial uses.

Mike Penbrook, principal of Russo Development, described technical features of modern data centers and Russo's experience building turnkey facilities for financial-services clients. "A data center really is a large structure that has utility infrastructure and the backup infrastructure to support a company's computing operation," Penbrook said, summarizing the facility's large power and cooling needs. The conceptual plan presented shows a single-story building of roughly 300,000 square feet on about 35 acres, secure access from Route 173, about 120 parking spaces and a proposed customer-owned substation at the northwest corner that would take a direct drop from nearby JCP&L transmission lines.

Presenters emphasized the site's power advantage: multiple high-voltage lines (described by the applicant as 230 kV, 115 kV and 34.5 kV) run to the west of the property, and a JCP&L load study is underway to confirm deliverable capacity. Penbrook said those transmission ties make the site feasible where other OPLR-zoned parcels elsewhere in town would not be. He also addressed noise and cooling: modern air-cooled chillers and whisper-quiet fans, plus sound walls, can be designed to meet State residential noise limits (50 dB at night, 65 dB during the day), and recent facilities in the region met those standards.

Committee members pressed on local impacts. Questions focused on traffic and parking (particularly given a planned affordable-housing complex at the same intersection), the appropriate zoning mechanism (use variance versus zone change), restrictions the township could attach (for example, limitations on microwave towers), and the projected municipal fiscal benefits. Penbrook and Greystone staff said end-user office space would vary and that typical data-center leases are long-term (20-year base terms with options), which reduces the likelihood of rapid relocation. On tax revenues, presenters cited comparable assessments ranging from roughly $2 to $3.50 per square foot for similar facilities but acknowledged that local assessments vary and that the township—s tax assessor would determine actual revenue.

Public-safety and emergency-response topics were raised. Penbrook described built-in fire-protection systems (VESDA early-smoke detection, pre-action systems and early-suppression fast-response in utility areas) and said the facility would coordinate with local fire departments.

The developers requested the committee consider the proposal during upcoming master-plan review and noted the JCP&L load study as a pending technical milestone. No rezoning or formal action was taken; the committee indicated it would expect further technical studies, possible land-use-board review, and conditions tied to any future zoning changes.

What happens next: the applicant said it will continue coordination with JCP&L on an engineering/load study and suggested the matter could proceed through master-plan review or a land-use-board application; no vote occurred at the meeting.