Falls Twp. Supervisors Approve Nondisclosure Agreement For Data Center Project

The entrance to they Keystone Trade Center in January 2021. Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

The Falls Township Board of Supervisors approved a nondisclosure agreement Monday night regarding a proposed data center project at the Keystone Trade Center.

Michael Meginniss, the attorney representing property owner NorthPoint Development, presented the nondisclosure agreement to the board. He explained that the request came from a potential tenant at the site, not from NorthPoint itself.

“We obviously don’t want the township to come out of pocket for any legal fees related to this request,” Meginniss said. “So we’ll be reimbursing the township for all legal fees incurred in one form or another as a result of this request.”

Township Solicitor Michael Clarke clarified that the agreement would not prevent anyone from filing a right-to-know request or obtaining information they are entitled to. It also would not hinder the full land development process when the time comes.

“Essentially what this agreement says is if we get a right-to-know request, we’ll notify them,” Clarke explained. “And anything we have to do to defend it, NorthPoint will pick up the cost and we will be very careful with their proprietary information.”

The identity of the potential tenant was not disclosed during the meeting.

The nondisclosure agreement first came into public view in spring.

Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence mentioned that the project was approved at the zoning hearing board last week as a data center.

The project is a 1 million-square-foot building that will be used by the tenant as a data center, which received variances for driveway width and related to setback for a security post and other small buildings.

Last week, Meginniss told the zoners the tenant will have tight security at the property.

The building has already been constructed and is empty, but it needs to be outfitted for a large data center.

Tony Batiste, a resident, questioned the electricity usage of data centers and potential backup power sources.

“When it doesn’t, what happens?” Batiste asked, referring to the possibility of power outages.

Dence responded that the facility would likely have backup generators.

The supervisors voted to approve the non-disclosure agreement.

In private business, nondisclosure agreements are not uncommon, but they are not as common in local government and can raise concerns about public access to information. Locally, Amazon has been known to use them as they explored development in Lower Bucks County.

NorthPoint Development, which acquired the U.S. Steel property at the end of 2020 for $160 million, has big plans for the site. The developer is working to transform the area into a major hub for e-commerce and logistics, potentially creating 5,000 to 10,000 jobs and adding up to 15 million square feet of new warehouse space, with a total projected investment of $1.5 billion.

As part of the development’s incentive package, the Bucks County Commissioners, Falls Township, and the Pennsbury School District agreed in 2020 to designate the site as a Keystone Opportunity Investment Zone from January 2021 through December 2035. The designation provides significant tax breaks to foster development.

Previous reporting on the project: