NORTH COVENTRY TWP, PA — A proposal to convert nearly 86,000 square feet of the former Coventry Mall into a data center has been withdrawn following a zoning dispute, ending a second attempt this year to establish a data center in North Coventry Township, according to reporting by the Daily Local News.
PGOB Coventry Holdings LLC and PennMark Management Company Inc. withdrew their application October 6, prompting the cancellation of a zoning hearing scheduled for October 22. The withdrawal ends the immediate review of a project that would have repurposed vacant commercial space at the shopping center, now known as the Shoppes at Coventry.
Attorney Craig R. Lewis notified township zoning officer Cheryl Franckowiak of the decision in a letter dated October 6.
“Consistent with my recent conversation with the township’s solicitor, Pennmark hereby withdraws the application,” Lewis wrote, according to the Daily Local News.
The developers had sought a special exception to establish an 85,987-square-foot data center at 351 W. Schuylkill Road, a roughly 53-acre commercial property near Routes 100 and 724.
The application, submitted August 13, relied on a provision of the township’s zoning ordinance allowing a “public service facility” by special exception in the C-1 Commercial District.
Township officials disputed that classification, creating a regulatory obstacle to the proposed conversion.
“Based on the information provided in the application, it appears the proposed use is not permitted in the C-1 zoning district because the use does not constitute a public service utility as defined by the North Coventry Zoning Ordinance,” Franckowiak wrote in correspondence quoted by the Daily Local News.
The October 22 hearing would have provided an opportunity for the developers to challenge the township’s interpretation of the ordinance.
An August 21 review by township engineering consultant LTL Consultants also identified deficiencies in the application, including problems with the concept plan’s scale, missing topographical information and insufficient details about proposed site improvements.
The submission also lacked traffic-impact and community-facilities impact studies required for the property because it exceeds 10 acres.
The withdrawal eliminates the immediate zoning dispute without establishing whether the developers intend to revise the proposal or pursue another use for the vacant mall space.
The decision follows an earlier unsuccessful data-center proposal in North Coventry.
In February, township supervisors voted 3-2 against a separate concept involving a 120,000-square-foot, three-story data center on nearly 18 acres near Routes 100 and 724. That project, presented informally by Envision Land Use, was abandoned before a formal application was submitted following opposition from residents and township officials.
The two proposals have intensified scrutiny of how the township regulates data centers, a land use not specifically addressed by its existing commercial zoning provisions.
North Coventry officials are developing a dedicated zoning ordinance amendment governing data-center development.
More than 50 residents attended a September Planning Commission discussion of an initial 14-page draft, according to the Daily Local News.
The proposed regulations address where data centers could operate and establish development standards covering building dimensions, setbacks, landscaping, noise, access, cooling systems, groundwater monitoring, backup generators and emergency-response planning.
The draft also addresses wastewater management and potentially contaminated runoff from firefighting operations.
The initial proposal focuses on industrially zoned property rather than the commercial district containing the former Coventry Mall.
The timing of any ordinance adoption could affect future applications. Although the withdrawn Coventry Mall proposal was submitted before the township adopted new data-center regulations, a subsequent application could face different requirements if supervisors enact the amendment before it is filed.
The township has not established whether the Coventry Mall developers will return with a revised application.
For North Coventry, the withdrawal leaves a substantial portion of the former shopping center without the proposed redevelopment while officials continue considering how data centers should be regulated within township boundaries.
The October 22 hearing on the Coventry Mall application has been canceled. The Zoning Hearing Board remains scheduled to consider an unrelated application involving 1461 Shenkel Road that evening.
For additional details about the withdrawal, the township’s zoning objections and the broader debate over data-center development in North Coventry, read the original Daily Local News report at https://www.dailylocal.com/2026/10/08/plan-for-data-center-in-coventry-mall-withdrawn/.
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