A Pennsylvania town is fighting 51 proposed data centers that could evict mobile home tenants

Residents of a small Pennsylvania town are drawing attention on TikTok after a video highlighted a wave of proposed data centers that locals say would make their community unrecognizable. 

For some, the worry hits deeper, as the proposal could force mobile home tenants out of their homes.

What happened?

In a video from More Perfect Union (@moreperfectunion) on TikTok, Archbald residents described fears of eviction, deforestation, and major industrial expansion in a town of roughly 7,000 people.

The video's caption summed up the stakes this way: "Tenants of a small town in Pennsylvania are fighting a data center invasion that could evict them from their homes." According to the post, the planned 51-facility buildout would cover nearly 14% of Archbald.

@moreperfectunion

Tenants of a small town in Pennsylvania are fighting a data center invasion that could evict them from their homes. Archbald, PA is home to just 7,000 people, but developers want to build 51 giant data centers there — taking over 14% of the entire town and a major power line. Producers: Neeti Upadhye, Tasnia Choudhury Editor: niklaak Videographer: Thien Dinh Supervising Producer: Court Fuller

♬ original sound - More Perfect Union

In the video, one resident said, "When I felt that I might have to leave, I was kind of scared. I was worried about being homeless."

At Valley View Estates Mobile Park, residents received eviction notices and are struggling with a tight housing market, one speaker said, adding that agencies warned housing help might not be available for "at least five years."

According to the video, the proposed project calls for 14 data center buildings, "each one of them 80 feet tall." It also said a separate nearby developer used a loophole to clear 180 acres of forest before that project was approved.

After community opposition intensified, more than half of the borough council resigned, and one proposed data center project was reportedly rejected.

Why does it matter?

The fight centers on housing, health, wildlife, and whether a small town should shoulder the burden of large-scale industrial development.

One resident in the video said tree clearing has already displaced animals: "I see the animals laying in the road dead because they're trying to find new homes."

Data centers are closely tied to the AI boom because they provide the computing power needed to train and run AI tools.

Data centers can consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, strain local infrastructure, raise energy costs, and create security, misuse, and broader social concerns when expansion outpaces oversight.

Archbald residents say their town would be left with the downsides of the projects while outside developers take the financial gains.

As one person in the video put it, "We are essentially being asked to give up all of the land, the energy and water, so that developers can come in here and exploit us and then send their profits someplace else."

What are people saying?

Commenters responded with disbelief: "51 DATA CENTERS IN 1 TOWN?!" Another added, "archbald resident here. it is that serious."

Others were even more direct: "WE DONT WANT DATA CENTERS" and "PA does not want or need these data centers."

"They're trying to pull the wool over our heads," one resident said. "We're catching on quite quick, and we're not going to stand for it."

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