Data centers in Monroe County, Pennsylvania: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Monroe County, in the Poconos, has spent 2026 writing data center rules faster than developers have filed data center plans, and the one project with a formal application may escape those rules anyway. It is on Route 209 near East Stroudsburg, in Smithfield Township, on part of Smithfield Gateway, a mixed-use development once meant for restaurants and apartments. Developer DEPG Mosier Associates LP and DEPG of Shawnee II LP first showed a sketch plan in February for two data center buildings of about 125,000 square feet each; the plan was later combined into one two-story, 250,000-square-foot building. No power or water figure has been made public.

Township chairman Jacob Pride was doubtful from the start, saying the switch from a planned live-work-play development to data centers "does not align" with the township's economic development plans. An online petition against the project passed 800 signatures by March, citing deforestation, noise and light pollution. In April the developer filed a conditional use application, a request to be allowed to build because the project meets the zoning ordinance's standards, decided after a public hearing. As of September 22 that hearing had not been scheduled; the township said it was looking for a larger venue for the expected crowd.

The township has since tightened its rules for future projects. On August 12 supervisors approved Ordinance No. 268, which bars data centers from the industrial and economic-development zones and requires conditional use approval, an energy plan, noise limits and a bond for future proposals in a new heavy industrial zone. But officials say the Gateway application, filed before the ordinance passed, will likely be judged under the old rules. Solicitor Ronold Karasek warned the new ordinance could be challenged as exclusionary zoning, a claim that a town's rules are illegally designed to keep a use out entirely.

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.