Representative AI image
A developer offered to give every household in a small Pennsylvania town $10,000 if they agreed to a massive data centre project. NorthPoint Development sent letters to households in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, offering a total of $45 million to 4,500 households if the township allowed the proposed data centre project to go ahead, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The plan involves building the first of 15 data centre buildings across 1,300 acres in the Pocono foothills. For a town where the median household income is about $60,000, the proposed $10,000 payment represents a significant sum.
Yet many residents interviewed by the Journal said they were not keen to accept the project, even with the money on offer. “$10,000 doesn’t match how much it’s going to tank my property value,” Fasnacht told the Journal. “$10,000 would be nice,” Spallone said. “I think it works the opposite way, because most people have the opinion that, ‘hey, are they trying to bribe us here?’” Negra told the Journal. NorthPoint’s chief marketing officer, Brent Miles, said the idea of direct payments emerged after an angry public meeting last year, when residents questioned what they would gain from supporting the project. “I think we’ve got something here that’s on the cutting edge,” Miles told the Journal, “really in direct response to ‘what’s in it for me?’” The company has also proposed another $120 million in payments over 15 years for police services and other community investments. Miles said the company had persuaded some residents who were initially sceptical by answering questions about water use, energy costs and noise.
The money could pay for rent, groceries, fuel or even help someone buy a car. But the offer has failed to win over many residents, who fear the project could damage their homes, disrupt their lives and change their community. The proposed project, however, has faced strong local opposition, with residents raising concerns about noise, property values and the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. For Jeff Fasnacht, a retired teacher who lives near the proposed site, the main concern is what the development could do to his property’s value. He believes the payment would not make up for a possible fall in the value of his home. Diana Spallone, a special-education teacher who also received the letter, shared similar concerns. She and her husband recently spent money on home improvements, including a new roof. she worries that the data centre could ultimately hurt the value of their property While the proposed payment could help replenish their savings. Others are concerned about what the project could mean for the wider community. Some residents fear years of construction noise, while others distrust large developers and worry that towns are not being given enough information before major projects are approved. Ed Negra, a retired homeowner helping organise opposition, believes the cash offer could have the opposite effect to what the developer intended. However, the project remains uncertain. Hazle Township rejected it on zoning grounds in November, after which NorthPoint sued the township to overturn the decision. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.