Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published June 2, 2026 11:44 P.M.
(Big Beaver Borough, Pa) Residents packed the Big Beaver Borough Fire Hall Tuesday evening regarding a controversial topic in the community. A public town hall meeting was held by Switch, the company who purchased and aims to build a data center on the former Pitt Race property.
Residents waited in long lines to enter the building while multiple police agencies were on site providing security with the meeting.
Beaver County Radio had the opportunity to speak with some of those residents. One man said his issue with the project is “the overall shadiness with the borough”, going on to note that he doesn’t think neither Switch or the Borough has been informing residents of their plans transparently. He added “stop trying to hide everything, if the deal is done, what do you have to lose by saying what is going on”?
Another resident who used to spend a lot of time at the race track, said “there aren’t really very many positives for this community, it’s just a massive loss for everyone involved”.
The speakers for the event included Switch representatives Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Natalie Mitchell, along with Vice President of Construction Development Steven Roberts.
The microphone-less and dimly lit town hall got under way with Mitchell giving an overview of the company, which was founded in the year 2000 by CEO Rob Roy. While previously a publicly traded company, it went private in 2022.
Mitchell stated that the company should be viewed as a backbone to the internet, powering and securing data for clients, while suggesting it will be a valuable resource to the community. She also stressed that Switch operates all of their facilities on 100% renewable energy.
Roberts explained the project will include three 200,000 square foot buildings in rows. The closest a building will be to the property line is 800 feet, while the closest to a neighboring house is roughly a quarter mile.
Switch says the building will not be visible to the public, coining the phrase “unseen and unheard.”
To answer residents concerns over power and water, the duo claims that existing First Energy power lines and a station at the site will be used. They claim that Switch will pay 100% of the power costs and no rates will be affected for the community.
As far as water, the representatives claim there will only be an initial fill and a closed loop system will retain the water. A 200,000 gallon initial fill will happen at startup and the water tower at the site will be utilized. They claim the only water consumption will be for general facilities such as bathrooms and daily consumption will be one or two houses worth.
Propylene glycol is the only chemical stated to be used which they say is considered safe by the FDA, as it is used in various products.
Roberts says the construction will avoid all streams and wetlands and a silt fence be installed around any disturbed areas. He also stated that Switch will take baseline water samples of all streams on the property and a third party will test water samples following any significant rain events.
The construction plans also contain Tier 4 backup generators, which Switch say offer 95% less pollution than standard diesel engines.
The pair also touched on sound level concerns. They claim that the baseline sound level with generators running will be -50 to -60db, while the Pitt Race complex ranged up to 110db during events.
Mitchell stated there would be benefits of having the data center in Big Beaver. 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.
She also said that current and past Switch community engagement includes police and fire support, STEAM support in schools, along with support for trade and apprenticeship programs.
Mitchell did note that there will be a lag in seeing benefits until the site is at full operation, which could take time.
The facility is expected to create 1500-2000 skilled labor jobs during construction and 80-100 fulltime jobs when it is operating.
When the two were ready to take questions from the public, many residents began making their voices heard.
One person accused the company of lying about not being owned by private equity groups. The resident began reading off names of private equity investors and transactions that have taken place. Mitchell responded that the company is “not fully owned by private-equity” and acknowledged there are other investor groups involved as the audience began to yell and shout.
One council member for Big Beaver Borough said that they were supportive of the data center. Another person then began accusing the council of not caring or listening to their residents.
There were also residents of Lawrence County in attendance as well. They asked what benefits Lawrence County will get out of the deal considering they border the property line.
Mitchell confirmed that all tax revenue will go to Beaver County but they could have conversations about other community benefits. She brought up the idea of “green spaces” “walking trails” as possible benefits of the neighboring county.
Mitchell also stated she was “unaware” of the close boundary with other communities and thanked the resident for bringing it to their attention.
Switch says they will hold be at least one more public meeting regarding the project.
The construction is expected to take up to 2 years to complete after work starts.
