Data centers in Monmouth County, New Jersey: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Monmouth County's live data center fight is at Bell Works in Holmdel, the former Bell Labs campus that now houses offices, shops and restaurants. On July 21 the Township Committee introduced a ban on data centers; three days later the property's owner, Somerset Development, filed to build a two-story, 40-megawatt data center on the site, replacing an existing building. The committee adopted the ban unanimously on August 11, but the township's attorney says an applicant is generally entitled to the zoning in effect when its application was filed, and a 2013 redevelopment agreement already lists data centers as a permitted use there.

Founder and chief executive Ralph Zucker says the project is small by today's standards, "less than one-tenth the size of the 300-500-plus megawatt hyperscale data centers driving much of the recent public conversation," and "sits in an isolated portion of the property, out of view from surrounding neighborhoods and roadways." Residents raised power use, noise, water and property values at the August 11 meeting. "We were there to cheer the banning of a data center and it was announced, 'Guess what, guys? The data center is coming,'" said Kin Gee of Better Holmdel. Mayor Rocco Impreveduto said the committee cannot comment on an application pending before the Planning Board.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.