Columbia Spy

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY

Columbia Borough Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to reject a $6.35 million bid for the former McGinness Airport property, in a four-and-a-half hour meeting that drew a standing-room-only crowd.

The sole bid came from Saadia Holdings LLC, a New York-based company that manages retail properties and owns a large distribution center in Lancaster County. Residents widely believed the 41-acre site on Manor Street, currently known as the McGinness Innovation Park, was being eyed for AI data center development.

More than 300 residents packed the Columbia Borough Fire Hall, which had replaced the municipal building as the meeting venue in anticipation of heavy attendance. At one point, the crowd had swelled to between 500 and 600 attendees, some of whom were asked to leave the hall due to fire regulations. Roughly 40 residents spoke during public comment, and a petition against data center development that had gathered nearly 1,500 signatures was presented.

Speakers raised a wide range of concerns, including property values, potential environmental damage to the Susquehanna River, increased water and energy consumption, industrial noise, and the limited number of jobs such a facility would create. Many argued the property would better serve Columbia’s emerging identity as a recreation-focused river town, with calls for housing, tourism, or community-centered development instead.

The bid ultimately failed on a technical flaw. Council Vice President Heather Zink explained that Saadia’s proposal did not guarantee payment within a state-required 60-day window following a bid award. The company had sought to delay payment until permits were approved, a timeline that could have exceeded that deadline. An attorney for Saadia told the council she was not authorized to modify the bid’s terms on the spot, leaving council little choice but to vote no.

Council members acknowledged the borough’s financial situation. The property, purchased in 2021, has yet to generate revenue, and officials noted a significant running deficit. Supporters of the sale argued it represented an opportunity for immediate funding and future tax income. Those arguments, however, did not sway the outcome.

Transparency concerns also surfaced throughout the meeting. Pennsylvania’s sealed bid law limited what council could disclose about Saadia’s intentions ahead of the vote. Data centers are already permitted by right under the property’s current zoning, meaning future development could potentially move forward without additional public hearings.

A proposed ordinance to regulate data centers in the borough remains in draft form and was tabled for further review, leaving the community without clear regulatory guidelines. Pennsylvania law requires municipalities to zone for all purposes, making it likely the council will revisit the issue.

With the bid rejected, the future of the McGinness property remains open. Council may reopen the bidding process, pursue alternative development partnerships, or revisit the borough’s zoning framework before entertaining new proposals.

https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/whats-next-for-data-centers-in-pa-state-lawmakers-are-split-on-how-to-regulate-them/

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Columbia Borough Council will hold its regular meeting Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 7:00 PM. Please note the change of venue: The meeting will be held at the Columbia Borough Fire Hall, 726 Manor Street, due to larger than average attendance expected. 

Two significant land use and development items are on the agenda for the meeting:

Consider approval of text amendment to add Data Centers to zoning (Item 9c)

Council will consider approving an amendment to the borough’s zoning ordinance that will lay out how data centers must be developed and operated.

Consider awarding the bid for the McGinness Innovation Park property to Saadia Holdings LLC for $6.35 M (Item 10b)

Also on the agenda is the proposed award of the bid for the former McGinness airport property to Saadia Holdings LLC for $6.35 million.

There is still a question of whether the meeting will be livestreamed due to the change of venue. Currently, the plan is to video record the meeting and upload the footage to the borough’s YouTube channel. 

Clyde Investments LLC conveyed 230 Lawrence St. to LP Lamarc for $150,000.

Sanders Dorothy Ellen conveyed 1013 Locust St. to Wile Ethan, Smith Mylee for $280,000.

Reed Kyle A, Rendler Morgan R, Reed Morgan R. conveyed 122 N. Eighth St. to AJ Home Solutions LLC for $140,000.

Noll J. Richard, Noll Letitia E. conveyed 1115 Lancaster Ave. to 3G Locust Realty LLC for $1,494,300.

Photos: Joe Lintner

This week’s photos of Columbia 

Click on photos to see larger, sharper images.

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Columbians are in a patriotic mood for the town’s 300th anniversary. 

Cats probably don’t understand why humans mow grass. 

Tollbooth is on its way back . . .

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UPS has gone electric.

We won’t see much of Brinks after Truist leaves.

(By the way, they’re illegally parked.)

A tractor-trailer reportedly hit this tree on North 9th.

It did notable damage. 

This plant is growing at 2nd & Walnut. 

Someone forgot his signs after election day. 

When you’re serious about biking

When you’re serious about fishing 

Putting the docks in . . .

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Lotsa roses . . .

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An accident involving a van and a pickup truck occurred Monday morning at 5th & Chestnut. 

The van was marked “School Students,” but no students were inside. 

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300 years of Columbia 

The parking spaces in front of Borough Hall are reserved for “Official Business Only.”

But how does the parking enforcement officer know who’s official and who isn’t. And what constitutes “official business” anyway?

Columbia — Your Town

Another look at the town under glass

Why was RFT working at McGinness again this week?

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Dearest Gentle Reader,

Your faithful correspondent now takes up quill to address a matter of considerable local intrigue, one which has set hearts a-flutter and tempers ablaze. 

We speak of rumors of a data center rising up on the former McGinness Airport site. Could Columbia Borough’s 41 remediated acres become a shining digital temple, complete with all its attendant promises, problems, and prevarications?

The property has attracted a single suitor, a New York company which has tendered an offer of $6.35 million. Its intentions for the property have not been formally announced, although the council president said the company specializes in “warehousing and data centers.”

Several months ago, Columbia Borough Council amended its zoning ordinance for the Light Business District to allow data centers as a use-by-right, yet councilors’ intentions remain  “under wraps.”

It is worth noting, if only in passing, that the Borough’s zoning also allows warehousing (with special exception) at the site, a considerably less lucrative prospect. But it is the data center that commands our attention and ignites the imagination.

The municipal treasury, ever in need of replenishing, could expect substantial real estate tax revenue, in addition to any profits realized from the sale. One’s eyebrows, it must be said, do rise at such figures. 

The infrastructure question, though, is where our story grows decidedly less romantic. These digital palaces demand power on a truly prodigious scale, with an uninterrupted electrical supply, dedicated substations, and redundant fiber connectivity of the sort that the grounds currently do not have. 

What Borough officials might not reveal is the unglamorous reality of an automated, fence-encircled fortress humming loudly through the night behind locked gates. There is a considerable distance, Gentle Reader, between welcoming a data center in principle and embracing one as a neighbor in practice.

The Council is scheduled to vote on whether to accept the bid at its May 26th meeting at Columbia Borough’s Fire Hall. However, any plans for the use of the property still might not be revealed there.

Legitimate concerns are anticipated from residents at the meeting: plummeting property values, rate hikes for utilities, the ceaseless roar of industrial cooling apparatus, higher surrounding air temperatures, and occasional pungent emissions and noise of diesel generators. In short, one imagines the public comment period will teem with passionate orators. And your dedicated reporter shall be watching from afar and will post her report. 

Until next time, your ever-watchful correspondent remains, as always, devoted to illuminating the affairs of our beloved community in its 300th year.

Your Most Humble and Observant Chronicler,

Lady Whistletown

Columbia Kettle Works, 40 N. Third St., Columbia, May 14. Pass. Observed deeply scored cutting boards on both cooling units, not resurfaced or discarded as required. Observed static dust on the exhaust fan in the window above the three-compartment sink and some webbing on the ceiling and pipes above food preparation areas.

Smoked & Loaded, 149 Third St., Columbia, May 14. Pass. Coleslaw, a refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature-control-for-safety food, in the two-door cooler, was not compliant with date-marking by being labeled with a discard- or use-by date of no more than seven days and requires discarding. Observed a scrub brush and food debris inside the hand-wash sink, indicating uses other than hand-washing. The hand-wash sink is for hand-washing only. Observed single-service, single-use articles (to-go trays) stored beneath a table in the food preparation area directly on the floor, and not 6 inches above the floor. A working container of soap detergent was stored above or on the floor with single-service articles (to-go trays) in the food preparation area. A box and packets of “fry-powder” was observed stored on a shelf next to food in the food preparation area.

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Who knew what and when?

The Lancaster County Planning Commission met on May 11, 2026, with a featured presentation titled “Data Center Planning Guide Update.” The presentation, reflected in the Lancaster County Planning Department’s newly updated guide, “A Planning Guide Pertaining to Data Centers in Lancaster County, PA,” outlines how municipalities across the county should approach zoning, infrastructure, and community impact as data center proposals increase.

During the discussion, Heather Zink, Columbia Borough Council vice president and a member of the commission, said that borough officials were working with a developer. Speaking at about the 19-minute mark of the recording, Zink said: “We’re working with the developer,” a reference to the former McGinness airport parcel. At that time, no bids had been submitted to the borough, and the eventual bidder’s identity wasn’t publicly known. 

The McGinness parcel: Not on the map
The former McGinness airport property was conspicuously absent from the county’s data center map presented at the meeting and in the planning guide. A county official explained that the parcel is not located along electric transmission lines and is considered too far from adequate electrical infrastructure.

However, a West Hempfield parcel abutting Malleable Road, which does appear on the county map, was noted as being near transmission lines, a key factor in data center site selection. 

A timeline of events 
August 26, 2025 — Columbia Borough passed amended zoning permitting data centers in specific locations.
April 8, 2026 — A pre-bid meeting was held for the McGinness parcel. Realtor Deepa Balepur, listed as a representative of Compass Realty, was present as were borough officials and a few members of the public. 
April 29, 2026 — Columbia Borough Manager/Police Chief and Borough Engineer Derek Rinaldo visited the former McGinness site along with others, discussing the property.
May 11, 2026 — The Lancaster County Planning Commission meeting and data center presentation took place, during which Zink referenced the borough’s engagement with the developer.
May 15, 2026 — A bid for the McGinness property was submitted.
May 18, 2026 — The bid was opened at Borough Hall. The sole bid was from Saadia Holding LLC.

What the Planning Guide Says
The planning guide, updated in May 2026, provides municipalities with a framework for evaluating and regulating data center proposals. It covers frequently asked questions on energy consumption, water usage, noise, and community character, as well as suggested best practices for zoning ordinances.

The guide repeatedly cites Lancaster City’s proposed “Lancaster AI Hub” — the planned reuse of two former industrial sites — as a model for data center development. Lancaster City, notably, is also described as one of the document’s primary audiences and a project stakeholder.

The document acknowledges significant community concerns. Among its findings: a one-million-square-foot data center facility may generate as few as 30 permanent jobs.

An independent AI analysis of the guide found it leans toward accommodation over restriction. The framing of community concerns is largely procedural — focused on how to manage data centers rather than whether to permit them. Alternative voices, including residents, farmers, or environmental advocates skeptical of large-scale data center development, are not represented or quoted.

The document reads as a planning facilitation guide rather than a neutral impact analysis, the assessment concluded. “It assumes data centers are coming and focuses on managing them — a reasonable planning stance, but one that embeds a bias toward accommodation.”

Power demands 
The planning guide paints a detailed picture of data centers’ energy demands on the regional grid. As of April 2026, PPL, Lancaster County’s sole electricity supplier, reported 10 gigawatts of data center load already under supply agreements, with signed agreements for an additional 15 gigawatts. Current peak demand for the entire county is just 7.5 gigawatts — a figure that took more than a century to reach.

Effects on costs

In PJM’s 2025/2026 capacity auction, electricity prices surged from roughly $29 per megawatt-day to nearly $270 — a tenfold increase — adding $14.7 billion in costs compared to the prior year. An independent grid watchdog found that 70% of last year’s electricity cost increases were driven by data center energy demand and has translated to a 10–20% increase in most recent consumer electric bills

This context lends additional weight to the county’s infrastructure-based exclusion of the McGinness site from its suitability map. Without proximity to transmission lines and substation capacity, a data center at the former airport would face substantial hurdles. Power sources that could be used include microgrids, BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) and solar energy, fuel cells, and small modular nuclear reactors.

What Comes Next
Columbia Borough Council is scheduled to vote on the bid proposal at its May 26, 2026 meeting at the Columbia Borough Fire Hall. 

The Lancaster County Planning Commission’s updated guide is available at the Lancaster County Planning Department’s website HERE. The May 11 meeting recording is available via Vimeo HERE, with the data center presentation beginning at the 11:50 mark.

[Sources: Lancaster County Planning Commission meeting recording (May 11, 2026); LCPD Planning Guide Pertaining to Data Centers in Lancaster County, PA (May 2026 Update); Columbia Borough public records.]