$1.2 billion land deal for second data center project in Salem Township announced by 4-3 Group

SALEM TWP. — The 4-3 Glen Brook Group this week said it will apply for zoning approval for an amendment to the Data Center Overlay Zoning District in Salem Township.

Jack Sordoni, 50, founder of 4-3 Consulting, LLC, said he expects a public hearing on the application to be held in July or August.

The 4-3 Glen Brook team of Sordoni, Dave Scoblick, Will Whitesell, Mike Cabell, Tony Mattick, and Ryan DeBellis conceived and organized the deal, projected to provide long-term prosperity and progress for Salem Township and the region.

The project scale includes:

• Approximately 194 landowners

• More than 4,000 acres — at least 80% will remain green space

• A 39-building campus (subject to change)

• A closed-loop water system

• Electrical generation plant to be built on-site

• Potential purchase price of more than $1.2 billion

• Potential power demand of roughly 3.5 to 4 gigawatts

Sordoni said 4-3 Group has a buyer, but he could not release the name as per a non-disclosure agreement until the zoning is approved and the closing is held.

About the project

The 4-3 Group said this is not primarily a data center story but more of a human-interest/landowner story. They say the local landowners in Salem Township have lived around major industrial development and infrastructure for decades, and now they may finally have a chance to benefit from it.

The 4-3 Group said this project belongs in the context of Salem’s existing infrastructure — not as if untouched land is being industrialized for the first time.

They said Salem Township already bears the scars of power generation, transmission, gas infrastructure, truck traffic, dirt, dust, and nuclear-related infrastructure.

“Residents of Salem Township have been carrying the load — quite literally — for neighboring communities and states,” Sordoni said. “Perhaps the single largest contributing township to the PJM network — the world’s largest power grid — places a bullseye on Salem for data center development. All of the various required assets and attributes for data centers exist in one place — Salem Township — and the residents should be allowed to recognize the considerable value of their land, particularly after having endured more than 40 years of industrialization.”

PJM is the regional transmission organization for the mid-Atlantic, originally responsible for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland — the world’s largest power grid.

How the landowners came to 4-3 Group

In the final weeks before closing the nearby QTS deal that was announced in mid-March, where a group of 96 landowners in Salem Township was paid more than $500 million for approximately 1,700 acres by Blackstone QTS in what at the time was being called one of the largest land aggregations for data centers in the country, this latest landowner group came to 4-3 Group for assistance.

“They were concerned that other speculators were not doing right by them,” Sordoni said. “They asked 4-3 to help because of the team’s proven track record with landowners and their success in Salem Township.”

‘De-risking’ the land

The 4-3 Group said it considerably “de-risks” the land before closing. The group said 4-3 develops value for land owners through studies, analyses, permitting, infrastructure planning, and land assembly while the landowners still own their property.

This work increases the value through assembling the land, proving out the infrastructure case, and creating a development path forward for the end user.

4-3 Group said the Salem Township area already has major infrastructure, making it suitable for this type of use.

Existing infrastructure favorable for data center development includes:

• Multiple industrial-scale switchyards and substations

• Major high-tension power lines and transmission infrastructure

• Pipeline right-of-way system provides a virtually unlimited supply of natural gas

• Susquehanna nuclear power plant with two reactor towers

• Combined-cycle natural gas/steam power Moxie Freedom generation plant

• Two planned world-class hyper-scale AI data center campuses

“This development may also spare other communities from similar development pressure by directing it to a location already built around major energy infrastructure,” Scoblick said.

Power/generation plan

4-3 Group said the project contemplates a world-class generation facility to augment power supply in the state’s most energy-rich township.

“This is an energy and infrastructure development, not simply a data center development,” 4-3 Group said. “The goal is to match a large-scale data center opportunity with large-scale power planning in a location already suited for that purpose.”

Nuclear, property-value, and landowner context

4-3 Group said Salem Township already hosts the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, including on-site spent nuclear fuel storage. Residents within the emergency planning zone receive government-provided potassium iodide tablets as part of nuclear emergency preparedness.

“That context matters when people discuss property values and industrial impact,” Sordoni said. “Salem already lives with the perception and planning realities of major nuclear and energy infrastructure. Since data center development in the area, land values have skyrocketed.”

4-3 Group says that denying the zoning will not remove those existing impacts — it would only prevent landowners from finally monetizing land that has carried this burden for more than 40 years.

Economic context

4-3 Group states the area has been losing jobs, economic opportunity, population, and even a hospital over the past several decades.

“It has not been a major residential or commercial growth area,” Sordoni said. “A majority of landowners in the QTS deal have stayed in the immediate region — most not moving more than 10 to 15 miles away — and with their enhanced economic opportunity, they are investing in the local economy.”

4-3 Group claims the same infrastructure that has limited the area’s traditional appeal has created real value for landowners and the township. Berwick Area School District, Salem Township, and Luzerne County have seen significant tax revenue from the already-planned data center projects, according to the group, and this project will only continue this trend.

Community Benefit Agreement

4-3 Group said there is a community benefit agreement component.

They said the proposed CBA is expected to be significantly larger than the CBA negotiated with Salem Township in the last Salem deal. 4-3 Group said this is important because the project is not only about private landowners getting paid.

Prior Salem deal/undeveloped land

In the prior Salem Township deal, up to 85% of the land sold is expected to remain undeveloped, Sordoni said.

“That matters because some people hear ‘4,000 acres’ and assume the whole thing becomes concrete,” Cabell said.

According to 4-3 Group, large land assemblies allow for:

• Buffers

• Spacing

• Better site planning

• Infrastructure planning

• Green space

• Undeveloped areas

• Water/wastewater/environmental concerns

They also listed “likely” concerns:

• Air impact

The project will need applicable EPA and DEP approvals, permits, and emissions compliance. Air-quality concerns should be judged through that formal process and based on the actual generation plan.

• Water impact

Because the project contemplates a closed-loop system, it does not anticipate water extraction or wastewater disposal beyond conventional office and civilian use. Local water and sewer infrastructure has also been strengthened recently through community benefit agreements from the other data center projects.

• Green space/wildlife

A large land assembly does not mean every acre will be developed. It allows for buffers, setbacks, preserved green space, wildlife corridors, stormwater planning, and separation from neighboring properties.

• Utility demand

The project plans new power generation and enhanced infrastructure at the developers’ expense.

• Outside sources/cite-able points

The NRC lists Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Units 1 and 2 in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

Spent nuclear fuel at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station is stored on-site after it has cooled in the plant’s pools, including in dry cask storage regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Pennsylvania Department of Health materials say potassium iodide tablets are available to Pennsylvanians near active nuclear power plants, including Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, as part of emergency preparedness.

Landowners comment

Two of the landowners involved in the new project discussed their experiences dealing with 4-3 Group and their views on data centers.

Tony Allegrati, 50, owns 30 acres on Mingle Inn Road where he and his wife were going to build their “retirement home,” but things changed when 4-3 Group arrived.

“This is a game-changer for me and my family,” Allegrati said, declining to say what his offer is until after the closing.

Allegrati said his parents are also among the 194 landowners who are part of the project.

Allegrati said he works in cybersecurity and has a keen appreciation for data centers and their importance.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about data centers,” Allegrati said. “AI data centers are not as bad as people have been led to believe. I’ve been in quite a few over my career. Cell phones run off of this massive architecture, and we have to be able to deliver the infrastructure needed to power our phones and electronic devices. We have to adjust for the demands and the benefits will far outweigh the fears. We just can’t stand still,”

Allegrati said the sale of his land will have many benefits for him and his family.

“This allows me to cash out after living here all my life,” he said. “It’s a good way for me to provide for my family. I can help my children. My daughter will not have debt for going to college. It will allow me to set my family up for the future.”

Peter Onisick has lived on Mingle Inn Road for two and a half years with his wife and two young children. A former bricklayer, Onisick is now a stay-at-home dad; his wife is a nurse. Their property is about 2.5 acres.

Onisick said back in November, he learned about the QTS project, and he decided to look into what it was all about.

“Data centers are not as bad as people make it appear to be,” Onisick said. “When we heard there was another project being planned, we attended a meeting in January to find out the details.”

“There has been zero second-guessing,” he said. “We felt this was an opportunity for us. My wife and I both come from very poor families. This was a chance for us to be debt-free and to be able to live our dreams.”

Onisick said when he heard the offer, it was an opportunity that almost never comes by.

“Some people don’t want to move, but we can’t refuse this,” he said. “I sympathize with those not in the project area, but I feel people who would have been in our situation would have made the same choice. This is a big project that will bring big money to our area.”

Onisick also wanted to address the ongoing debate about data centers.

“One thing not talked about enough is the national security issue,” he said. “That was a big factor for many of us — the tie-in to our military systems.”

Data centers are part of the Information Technology Sector, one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors as defined by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a federal agency established in 2018 under the Department of Homeland Security.

Additionally, federal lawmakers have begun debating whether data centers should be separated from the Information Technology Sector and granted a standalone designation as critical infrastructure.

According to an article published on the World Economic Forum website:

“As computer demand rises, large-scale data centers are beginning to resemble other enabling systems that modern states already treat as critical infrastructure, such as electricity grids, ports and major telecommunications exchanges.”