A data center development is being planned in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as J.G. Petrucci Company looks to pivot a previously approved warehouse site into a large-scale digital infrastructure project.
The developer submitted plans this month for a data center and an on-site substation at 1024 N. Bradford Street in Northampton County, according to Frank Kane, Allentown city's managing director. The 100MW facility would span 146,000 square feet (13,565 sqm), a significant density of power per square foot that reflects the growing trend of converting industrial sites for high-intensity computing use.
The site has previously been offered as a 146,000 sq ft industrial development known as the Allentown Flex Center, for which J.G. Petrucci secured planning permission in 2022. The company is now in discussions with a potential end user for the data center project, and construction could start in early 2027 with the facility launching the same year, according to The Morning Call.
Founded in 1987, J.G. Petrucci is a privately held developer, owner, and manager of commercial, industrial, and residential properties throughout the Northeast US. The company's portfolio totals more than 7 million sq ft (650,000 sqm), and it already offers industrial space in Bethlehem within the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park. The company did not provide comment to local press about the project.
The proposed development is part of a broader surge in Pennsylvania's data center market. A report published by analyst firm DC Byte in September 2025 suggested the state's market is growing exponentially, jumping from 231MW of total IT load in 2021 to a hefty 7.8GW of planned load in 2025. Governor Josh Shapiro this month signed an executive order setting strict requirements on data center developments in the state, signaling increased regulatory scrutiny as the sector expands.
Elsewhere in Allentown, Quantum Group is planning to convert an empty warehouse at 2401 W. Emaus Avenue into a data center spanning around 250,000 square feet (23,000 sqm). The cluster of projects underscores Allentown's emergence as a secondary data center market in the Northeast, driven by proximity to major population centers and available industrial real estate.
The shift from industrial to data center use at the Bradford Street site highlights a wider industry pattern: as demand for cloud and AI infrastructure grows, developers are increasingly repurposing existing industrial properties to meet the need for power-dense facilities. The inclusion of an on-site substation also points to the critical role of grid connectivity in site selection, with power availability now a primary constraint for data center development across the US.