Pamela Barroway – Biz Editor👋 Hey #NewJersey! The Pinelands Alliance has a petition going urging Sherrill to enact a 3-year moratorium on new data centers in the Pinelands specifically but also statewide. Click on the link to sign!
Serge from BabkaI'm curious as to why in a state with so many malls and large box stores- some of which I'm sure are closed or closing, why there would be an objection of having them become either distribution centers or data centers?
Source: Grew up between Exit 8A and 9 on the turnpike.
@serge The suggested moratorium is not to end the data center growth but to get a handle on the impacts - environmental, noise, etc. The Pinelands Alliance link has details.
For example, one new data center was built in Vineland without assessment near a residential area due to a "redevelop loophole" & the noise is 24/7 nonstop.
A meeting of the Pinelands Commission is today, which is one the reason for this - to ensure one is not plunked down in the Pine Barrens. Hope this helps!
That's fair. The issue of noise in data centers is significant.
I do think malls are underutilized- the land they're on is often very well situation for traffic, utilities, etc. and could be re-used for a variety of uses.
The mall I was thinking about specifically was the Brunswick Square Mall, and I see that it's "closed for renovation".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NodOOjflEr0
This mall abuts some residential streets, so that would be a challenge- but I can imagine the land and infrastructure as potentially being valuable.
The Final Days of Brunswick Square Mall - Dead 70's Mall Soon to be Redeveloped
@serge If it was just malls in industrial areas near highways that are already noisy, maybe the reaction would be different. But companies are building these in rural areas like Vineland. A data center would never be get off the ground in Haddonfield or Moorestown.