THE ATLAS DATA CENTER · SOUTH WHITEHALL, PA
Schlossberg is clearing the way for data centers across PA.
He said no to a moratorium, sat out the real pause bill when it passed 201–1, then mailed constituents a newsletter claiming credit for one anyway — while his campaign takes PAC money from the utilities that profit every time one gets built.
In his own words
Then and now: what Mike Schlossberg has said, and when
No spin here — just his own words, the dates, and his legislative record. Judge for yourself.
What was already known
The Atlas data center proposal — 5.1 million sq ft across from Parkland High School — is public and drawing organized community opposition.
"I don't think a moratorium is appropriate."
At the League of Women Voters Lehigh County data center panel, Schlossberg said: "I don't think a moratorium is appropriate from an economic or from an infrastructure development perspective."
Source video — link needed. Quote as recorded by the campaign; we're adding a direct link to the footage as soon as we have it.
The House passes a real, bipartisan pause — without him
House Bill 2496 — which lets municipalities pause new data-center applications for up to 180 days to update local zoning — passes the PA House 201–1, with 42 co-sponsors from both parties. Schlossberg is not one of them.
Co-sponsor, House Bill 502
Schlossberg is a co-sponsor of HB 502, which would create a state board empowered to approve data-center energy facilities over local zoning objections statewide. The bill has not yet had a floor vote.
The mailer: "Protecting Our Communities from Data Centers"
In an official constituent newsletter mailed to the district, Schlossberg calls the Atlas data center "terrible" and says that type of location "should never have been allowed," branding himself "laser-focused on protecting our communities." He lists a bill to "establish a moratorium" among the measures he says he has "supported."
What the mailer doesn't mention: he is not a co-sponsor of HB 2496, the actual pause bill described above, and he's still a co-sponsor of HB 502, which points the other way — toward less local control, not more.
We showed you what he said, when he said it, and what he's co-sponsored since. Here's our conclusion, plainly stated: saying no to a moratorium, sitting out the real one when it passed 201–1, and then mailing constituents a newsletter claiming credit for "supporting" one isn't a change of heart. It's political hypocrisy — say whatever protects the seat, vote however the co-sponsor list actually shows.
And it's worth asking why. His own campaign finance report shows PAC money from PPL and FirstEnergy — the electric utilities that profit every time a project like this gets built and plugged in. See the full filing →
If you have other dated statements of his on data centers — earlier or later — that belong in this timeline, let us know.
Meanwhile, back home
Here's the data center this all started with.
THE ATLAS DATA CENTER · SOUTH WHITEHALL, PA
A hyperscale data center, across the street from Parkland High School.
The Atlas data center started as a 5.1 million sq ft proposal on Route 309, directly across from Parkland High School. After community pushback it's down to three buildings and roughly 1.5 million sq ft — still on the same site. Caren Lowrey has fought it since day one. Her opponent helped Harrisburg take that decision out of the township's hands.
Next public review: South Whitehall Township Planning Commission, Sept 23, 2026, at Parkland High School. Every seat matters.
Why this fight is different
She didn't wait for the Atlas data center to become a campaign issue.
Caren is a lifelong South Whitehall resident, a Parkland graduate, and a parent of three kids in the district. When the Atlas data center was proposed across from the high school, she started showing up to township meetings and asking the questions residents wanted answered — months before she was a candidate for anything.
She's attended the planning sessions, spoken publicly, written about the project, and stood with neighbors across the Lehigh Valley who are worried about noise, traffic, stormwater, and a decision-making process that keeps happening around them instead of with them.
Fighting the Atlas data center since day one
Her full record, in order
Meetings, public comments, video, her op-ed, and the media coverage — in the order it happened.
The Atlas data center is proposed
CDC Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of Edged Data Centers, proposes a hyperscale data center — originally reported at 5.1 million sq ft — on a parcel across Route 309 from Parkland High School.
Caren starts showing up
As a lifelong South Whitehall resident, Parkland graduate, and parent of three kids in the district, Caren begins attending township and school board meetings, asking questions, and speaking with neighbors about what a project of this size would mean for the community.
Parkland School Board workshop and meeting
Caren addresses the Parkland School Board directly about the Atlas data center proposal.
Parkland School Board workshop and meeting, May 12, 2026 — clip starts at 1:58:22.
League of Women Voters Lehigh County data center panel
A public forum on data center development in the Lehigh Valley, held at the Lehigh Valley Active Life Center in Allentown, with panelists covering citizen rights, the local planning review process, and the energy impact of data centers. Rep. Mike Schlossberg spoke on this panel — see Then and Now above for what he said.
Panel video — link needed
Op-ed published in The Morning Call
Caren writes publicly about what the Atlas data center debate has overlooked.
Parkland School Board meeting, follow-up
Caren returns to the Parkland School Board, calling on members to listen to families and fight the Atlas data center — raising concerns about the psychological and mental-health impact she believes it would have on students.
Parkland School Board meeting, July 21, 2026 — clip starts at 22:05.
Addressing Allentown City Council
Caren speaks to Allentown City Council about fighting data centers.
Allentown City Council, official meeting recording (Granicus clip #2102). Exact date pending — let us know so we can place this precisely in the timeline.
First planning commission review
The Atlas data center faces its first formal scrutiny before the South Whitehall Planning Commission. Caren attends and speaks during public comment.
Public comment video — link needed
Proposal is scaled back
Following community pushback, the plan shrinks to three buildings and roughly 1.5 million sq ft — still on the same site across from Parkland High.
Next planning commission session
The Planning Commission continues its review at Parkland High School. Township engineers have said they cannot yet recommend approval, citing site design, roadway layout, and stormwater management concerns.
Two entries above are still marked "link needed" — the LWV panel video and Caren's public comment at the South Whitehall Planning Commission. We know these happened and have described them accurately, but we're not linking video until we have the actual footage in hand. If you have recordings of either (or the exact date for the Allentown City Council clip above), send them through Get Involved and we'll add them.
The bigger fight
This isn't just about one data center. It's about who decides.
House Bill 502 would create a new state board — the Reliable Energy Siting and Electric Transition (RESET) Board — with the power to approve energy-generation facilities for data centers and bypass local zoning entirely. It has not yet come to a floor vote. If it becomes law, decisions South Whitehall residents are fighting to have a voice in today could be made in Harrisburg instead, with no township review at all.
Keeping this honest
What we know — and what's still being reviewed
What's confirmed: the project's scale, its location across from Parkland High School, the developer's own economic claims ($99.5M annual impact, $16.5M in taxes, ~250 jobs), its closed-loop cooling design, the township engineers' outstanding concerns about site design, roadway layout, and stormwater management, and HB 502's co-sponsor list.
Still under review: specific claims about backup generators, noise levels, and traffic counts vary by source and haven't been independently verified for this site. We'd rather leave a claim off this page than get a number wrong — if you have documentation on these points, let the campaign know.
Sources
Full citation list
- Lehigh Valley Public Media, "5.1 million-square-foot Atlas Industrial data center could be built across from Parkland High School."
- WFMZ, "Data center developer touts economic benefits of proposed 'Atlas' campus; South Whitehall community pushes back."
- Lehigh Valley Press, "Project Atlas faces scrutiny during first South Whitehall planning review."
- Lehigh Valley Public Media, "South Whitehall schedules special September session at Parkland High School for hyperscale data center proposal."
- Lehigh Valley Public Media, "Residents push for public hearing as South Whitehall takes new look at hyperscale data center."
- The Morning Call, Caren Lowrey op-ed, July 8, 2026.
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 502, 2025-2026 Regular Session, sponsor and co-sponsor list.
- Pennsylvania General Assembly, House Bill 2496, 2025-2026 Regular Session, sponsor and co-sponsor list — passed the House 201-1 on June 24, 2026.
- Rep. Mike Schlossberg, constituent newsletter, "Protecting Our Communities from Data Centers," Fall 2026 — mailed to District 132 households.
- League of Women Voters of Lehigh County, data center panel, May 14, 2026, Lehigh Valley Active Life Center, Allentown — Rep. Mike Schlossberg quote pending direct video citation.
- Armchair Lehigh Valley, "Over $100K flows through Schlossberg's campaign for 132nd; Lowrey reports $6K in contributions."