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Switch Big Beaver data center campus

Big Beaver, Beaver County, PADeveloper: Switch

Also known as Switch Pit 01-03, Big Beaver Data Center/Switch Pit 01-03

ProposedPreliminary land development plan filed with Big Beaver Borough in July 2026 and revised in September; borough council has not voted.
  1. Rumored
  2. Proposed
  3. Approved
  4. Under construction
  5. Operating

Switch plans a three-building data center campus on the site of the former Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Big Beaver Borough, about 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh near the Ohio line. Plans filed with the borough and Beaver County describe a site of about 383 acres; September revisions enlarged each building to 215,750 sq ft (about 647,000 sq ft in all), with a first phase targeted for 2028 and full buildout by 2030. Residents have raised concerns about water, noise, power costs, traffic and old mine workings, and the borough council has not voted on the application.

Key facts

Size & schedule

Site size382 acres [1]
Acreage in Switch's announcement. The county land development form lists 383 acres (250 disturbed) and the borough form about 385 acres gross (about 240 disturbed); news coverage describes the former track property as about 400 acres.
Source excerpt
“a new 382-acre data center campus in Big Beaver Borough, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania”
Floor area647,250 sq ft [7]
Three buildings of 215,750 sq ft each under the revised plans of Sept. 4, 2026, up from 201,688 sq ft each in the June traffic study [6]. The county form listed 605,048 gross sq ft before the revision.
Source excerpt
“Updated building footprint, GFA change from 201,688 sf to 215,750 sf per building.”
Buildings3 [6]
Figure from the traffic scoping application. Switch presented three buildings at its June 2026 town hall.
Source excerpt
“The current proposal for the development consists of a Data Center with three (3) 201,688 square-foot (sf) buildings, as shown in Figure 2.”
Stated investment$1.4 billion [10]
Figure given by Switch SVP Natalie Mitchell at the June 2, 2026 town hall.
Source excerpt
“She stated at full build out the facility will add millions of dollars of borough, county and state tax rolls, while noting the center is a 1.4 billion dollar investment.”
Permanent jobs (promised)80-100 [10]
Company estimate given at the June 2026 town hall.
Source excerpt
“The facility is expected to create 1500-2000 skilled labor jobs during construction and 80-100 fulltime jobs when it is operating.”
Construction jobs1500-2000 [10]
Company estimate given at the June 2026 town hall.
Source excerpt
“The facility is expected to create 1500-2000 skilled labor jobs during construction and 80-100 fulltime jobs when it is operating.”
Target completion2030-01 [9]
First phase possible from January 2028 and full buildout by January 2030, per the filings. The traffic study lists an opening date of 01-01-2028 and full buildout on 01-01-2030.
Source excerpt
“The first phase could launch as soon as January 2028, with all three buildings live by January 2030, according to documents.”

How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.

Power

UtilityFirstEnergy [9]
Utility pages: FirstEnergy (Pennsylvania) · data centers and bills
Filings include a new FirstEnergy switching station tied to existing on-site 345kV lines [9]. Switch's announcement says it does not pass costs on to consumers [1].
Source excerpt
“The project will include a new First Energy switching station, connected to existing 345kV lines which are already on site.”
Backup generatorsAbout 270 MW of total backup generator capacity, per filed documents as reported by DCD [9]
Backup generation, not a stated IT or utility load; no IT MW figure has been published.
Source excerpt
“Filed documents suggest the site's total backup generator capacity will total 270MW.”

Water

Water sourceBeaver Falls Municipal Authority [4]
Water supplier listed on the signed Beaver County land development application.
Source excerpt
“Water: Beaver Falls Municipal Authority.”
Coolingclosed-loop (Switch EVO design) [1]
Company claim. At the June 2026 town hall, Switch described a 200,000-gallon initial fill, with later use mainly for restrooms and similar domestic needs [10].
Source excerpt
“The Switch EVO® data centers consume zero water to cool the servers and GPU's”

Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.

Timeline

  1. Switch announced a 382-acre campus in Big Beaver Borough, to join its existing campuses in Atlanta, Austin, Grand Rapids, Las Vegas and Tahoe Reno. [1]

  2. The borough said Switch had told it of its plans but had not yet filed a formal application, and it outlined its review steps. [13]

  3. Switch held a public town hall at the Big Beaver fire hall to present the three-building plan. Police provided security for a large crowd. [10]

  4. Local groups opposed to the project held a community meeting attended by nearly 100 people. [14]

  5. Switch's general counsel signed the Beaver County land development application for 'Switch Pit 01-03'. [4]

  6. Engineering firm Atwell submitted the preliminary land development plan application to the borough on Switch's behalf. [3]

  7. The borough began posting the application and supporting studies online for public review. [2]

  8. At a county commissioners' work session, the county solicitor reported that the county planning commission had reviewed the application and was forwarding its recommendations to the borough. [11]

  9. The borough planning committee's agenda included Switch's notice of intent to seek subdivision and land development approval. [8]

  10. The borough meeting on Switch's plans moved outdoors because of the large turnout, and residents raised concerns about the project. [12]

  11. Revised land development plans, stormwater calculations and an acoustics study were submitted to the borough. [7]

  12. The borough received preliminary design plans and posted a link to them. [16]

Issues raised

  • Residents raised concerns about water use, noise, pollution, possible electric-rate increases, added traffic and old underground mines beneath the property. Borough council has asked for environmental studies and changes before voting [12].
  • Daniel Dennehy-Rodriguez of the Three Rivers Motorsport Preservation Society questioned why the borough's September 2025 ordinance change allowing data centers came weeks before the track's sale was announced [15][14].
  • An opposition organizer said Switch's June town hall excluded press and did not really listen to residents [14].
  • Beaver County's solicitor noted that water and electricity use, neighbors' main questions, are outside the county planning agency's review under the state planning code [11].
  • Lawrence County residents living next to the site asked what their communities would gain, and a Switch executive said she had not known the boundary was so close [10].
  • Some residents urged borough council to reject any data center application [13].

Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.

Sources

  1. Switch Announces New Data Center Campus in Beaver County, Pennsylvania
    Switch · Apr 30, 2026 · company
  2. SWITCH Data Center Application
    Big Beaver Borough · Aug 12, 2026 · government
  3. Cover Letter
    Big Beaver Borough (Atwell, LLC submission) · Jul 7, 2026 · government
  4. Beaver County Land Development Application – Signed
    Big Beaver Borough · Jun 29, 2026 · government
  5. Borough Land Development Application
    Big Beaver Borough · Sep 4, 2026 · government
  6. Appendix F – Traffic Scoping Application
    Big Beaver Borough · Jun 30, 2026 · government
  7. Borough Cover Letter
    Big Beaver Borough · Sep 4, 2026 · government
  8. Borough of Big Beaver PA Planning Committee Meeting (August 27th, 2026 agenda)
    Big Beaver Borough · Aug 27, 2026 · government
  9. Switch files to develop data center on former Pittsburgh race track
    DatacenterDynamics · Aug 24, 2026 · news
  10. Big turnout and big voices at Big Beaver data center meeting
    Beaver County Radio · Jun 2, 2026 · news
  11. Switch data center planning in Big Beaver discussed at Commissioners' work session
    Beaver County Radio · Aug 20, 2026 · news
  12. Meeting held in Big Beaver concerning Switch's plans to build data center on former Pitt Race property
    Beaver County Radio · Aug 28, 2026 · news
  13. Residents urge officials not to build data center on former race track property in Beaver County
    WPXI · May 19, 2026 · news
  14. Group gathers to oppose proposed data center development at site of former Beaver County racetrack
    WPXI · Jun 29, 2026 · news
  15. Residents looking for answers at meeting about plans for possible data center in Big Beaver
    WPXI · Jun 2, 2026 · news
  16. Switch
    Big Beaver Borough · Sep 11, 2026 · government

Cite this page

Last updated Sep 27, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.

APAData Center Census. (2026). Switch Big Beaver data center campus. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/switch-big-beaver-pa
MLA“Switch Big Beaver data center campus.” Data Center Census, Sep 27, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/switch-big-beaver-pa.
Linkhttps://datacentercensus.com/dc/switch-big-beaver-pa

Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.