By Josh McKnight | The McKnight Team
Upper Merion Township supervisors voted unanimously on Aug. 13 to reject Main Line developer Brian O’Neill’s proposed AI data center campus in the Swedeland section near King of Prussia. The project would have covered nearly 5 million square feet across five properties.
The Upper Merion data center fight ended five days before Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on Aug. 18 stripping every such project in Pennsylvania of fast-track permitting.
How the Executive Order Changes the Rules
The order removes all data center projects from fast-track permitting. It requires local approval before a project moves forward. It bans state nondisclosure agreements on these deals, mandates that developers bring their own power rather than draw from the existing grid, and requires legally binding environmental and transparency commitments. Developers must also fund community benefit agreements. Permitting data becomes public.
That is a reversal. Shapiro spent the past two years courting this industry. He now says some projects would “negatively impact our communities.” The politics are not subtle: a June Quinnipiac poll found 76 percent of Pennsylvania voters oppose a data center in their own community, and Shapiro faces reelection. The Data Center Coalition criticized the order. So did his Republican rival, Stacy Garrity, from the other direction. Environmental activists say it does not go far enough without a full moratorium.
If you are watching a project near your own street, the local approval requirement is the line that matters to you. Every proposal now has to clear the township that has to live with it.
What the Upper Merion Data Center Denial Actually Does to Home Values
Here is the part most coverage missed. The denial does not settle anything. O’Neill can appeal. He is already fighting a parallel battle over a 2-million-square-foot proposal in Plymouth Township. The land is still zoned the way it was zoned last month. Nothing was rezoned. Nothing was preserved.
Set that against what the numbers show right now. The average King of Prussia home value is $507,983, up 3.3 percent over the past year, with homes going to pending in around eight days, per Zillow data through July 31, 2026. Montgomery County overall sits at $499,755, up 2.4 percent. King of Prussia is running ahead of its own county while an 18,000-signature petition circulated three miles away.
The data center fight did not cool this market. Not yet. Maybe not at all.
Why the Appeal Matters More Than the Vote
A township denial is not the end of a land development application in Pennsylvania. It is the beginning of the appeal. O’Neill sued Upper Merion before the vote, claiming he was denied a fair extension and mistreated during review. He briefly won a court order halting the proceedings. A judge vacated it and let the board vote. That sequence tells you how hard he intends to fight.
The tax argument is where this gets contested. O’Neill claimed the project would generate 10,000 construction jobs and $55 million in annual local tax revenue. The township’s own tax collector disputed both figures publicly. Reasonable people land differently on that. A large ratable can hold down millage rates for every property owner in a district. A large ratable that never materializes at the promised scale holds down nothing.
Both things can be true: the project could have been bad for the neighbors closest to Swedeland and good for the tax base of everyone else in the township. That tension is why these fights get ugly.
If you own in Upper Merion, Bridgeport, or the King of Prussia side of the township, tell your neighbor the appeal window is still open. Most people think this is finished.
What This Means for You
If you are selling near Swedeland in the next year, the uncertainty is the problem, not the outcome. A pending appeal is a disclosure conversation and a buyer hesitation, and it does not resolve on your timeline. Price to the market you have, not the one you expect after a court rules. If you are buying, the opposite applies. Ask what is entitled within a mile of the property. Zoning does not care how a supervisor voted last month.
The practical question is always narrower than the headline. Whether a proposed use two miles away actually reaches your street depends on the parcel, the zoning district, and the appeal calendar. If you are weighing a move anywhere in this corridor, the market data on our Plymouth Township real estate page is a reasonable place to start, since the second O’Neill proposal sits there.
Thinking about buying or selling in Upper Merion or King of Prussia? Let’s talk.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Upper Merion Data Center
Can a Pennsylvania township legally reject a data center?
Yes. Supervisors may deny a land development application, and Upper Merion did so unanimously on Aug. 13. The applicant retains the right to appeal that denial to the county Court of Common Pleas.
Will the Upper Merion data center denial affect my home value?
Nothing changed on the ground, so no immediate effect is likely. King of Prussia home values sit at $507,983, up 3.3 percent year over year, per Zillow data through July 31, 2026.
Should I wait to buy near Swedeland until the appeal is resolved?
Appeals in Pennsylvania land use cases routinely run past a year. Waiting means competing later in a market where homes currently go to pending in around eight days. Most buyers should evaluate the specific parcel instead.
What happens next with the executive order?
The order takes effect immediately, removing fast-track permitting and requiring local approval statewide. It does not apply retroactively to settle the Upper Merion appeal, which proceeds under the rules in place when the application was filed.
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