Data centers in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

A group of northern Virginia developers wants to build a $15 billion data center complex on nearly 700 acres off Country Club Road in Middlesex Township, about five miles northeast of Carlisle. The project, called Pennsylvania Digital 1 or PAX-1, would split the land into three campuses of six buildings each. PPL is already building the substation needed to supply its 1,350 megawatts of power, and the Middlesex water authority has reserved up to 400,000 gallons a day for it. The developers project $45 million a year for the Cumberland Valley School District and about $10 million for the county and township.

Neighbors have fought the project for more than a year over water use, cooling, noise, diesel generator exhaust and the view from the nearby Appalachian Trail. Five couples have sued, claiming the township illegally rezoned farmland to let PAX-1 in. On September 2, 2026, at a packed meeting in the Cumberland Valley High School auditorium, the two remaining township supervisors approved the project's final plans, a $5 million decommissioning bond and a $14 million community benefits agreement, after the third supervisor resigned. Resident Robert Eppley Jr., whose father served as a supervisor for almost 40 years, told the board, "When you cast your vote, you don't matter."

No tenant has been named; the developers have said it could be a company like Google, Amazon or Oracle. Before construction can start, the developers must file the final first-campus plan at the county courthouse for a building permit, and the lawsuit over the township's rezoning remains active.

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.