By Josh McKnight | The McKnight Team
Brian O’Neill, CEO of MLP Ventures, has filed five lawsuits against the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors. Each one challenges the denial of a proposed data center project in King of Prussia. Together, the five projects total 4.6 million square feet.
King of Prussia data centers are now a question for a judge, not the township. The suits, filed in Montgomery County Court, ask the court to approve the plans the supervisors rejected.
How the Case Reached Court
The supervisors denied the projects after a contentious public meeting on August 13. They said they did not have enough information about community impacts, including energy and utility needs. Residents applauded the decision, and an 18,000 signature petition backed it.
O’Neill argues the township had already signaled that the projects would comply with zoning as a warehouse use. His position is that the denials came from public opposition, not from any objective zoning problem. The lawsuits call that reasoning legally improper. That leaves residents in limbo. The supervisors said no. The petition said no. Now the final answer rests with a judge.
One detail shapes the whole case. Upper Merion has since adopted an ordinance regulating data center noise, energy and water impacts. Because these proposals came first, that ordinance does not apply to them.
What the Lawsuits Actually Mean for King of Prussia Data Centers
The new ordinance feels like protection. For these five projects, it is not. The court will weigh them under the rules that were in place when the plans came in. The ordinance matters for the next proposal, not these.
Set that against what the numbers show right now. The typical King of Prussia home value is $500,139, up 3% over the past year, per Zillow data through August 31, 2026. The July median sale price was $466,750. Just 40.0% of July sales closed over list price, and 40.4% closed under it. Homes went to pending in a median of about 11 days, with 69 homes for sale at the end of August. Across Montgomery County, by comparison, 55.1% of July sales closed over list.
A balanced split. Not a panic.
Why Buyers and Sellers Near the Sites Are Watching
A 4.6 million square foot build changes more than a skyline. It brings construction traffic, power demand and questions about noise and water. Those are the same impacts the supervisors said they could not measure. Buyers ask about them before they write an offer, and your answers shape their number.
Uncertainty is the harder part. A court case can take months, and until it ends, nobody can say for sure what gets built. Some buyers will pass on your street if it sits near a proposed site. Others will see a discount worth taking. Reasonable people land differently on that.
For you as a homeowner, the practical question is disclosure. If a buyer asks what is planned nearby, point to the public record rather than guessing. The lawsuits and the August 13 meeting record are the place to start.
The fight over King of Prussia data centers is also bigger than one township. The denial comes amid broader pushback against data center development across the region and the state. Upper Merion may end up setting a marker others follow, whichever way the court rules.
If you know a King of Prussia homeowner who assumes the new ordinance settled this, send them this post.
What This Means for You
If you are selling near a proposed site, expect buyers to ask about it, and have a plain answer ready. Avoiding the topic will cost you more than naming it. If you are buying, find out exactly how close your target home sits to the proposed projects, and build the court timeline into your decision. The July numbers show King of Prussia buyers already have more room to negotiate than buyers across much of the county, so use it.
Street level detail matters more to you than headlines here. The King of Prussia community guide covers how the Upper Merion market is moving overall. We can help you weigh what a pending case like this means for a specific address.
Thinking about buying or selling in King of Prussia? Let’s talk.
