Sue Data Centers

Data Center Registry

Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus

Tonawanda, Erie County, New York

ProposedContestedAI likelyRecord updated September 10, 2026

Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus is a proposed data center in Tonawanda, New York (Erie County), operated under its own name. The public record puts it at 300 MW planned, 140 acres, a reported $2 billion investment. It is the subject of active public debate, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition on record.

Every line on this page traces to a public source listed at the bottom. Where a figure was looked for and not found, the row says so. A blank is never a zero.

Facility record

Proposed

Operator
Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus
Facility type
Data center, AI use likely
Location
Tonawanda, Erie County, NY
Coordinates
43.0370, -78.8870
Power capacity
300 MW planned
Land
140 acres
Investment
$2 billion
Announced
Not established from a public source
Utility
National Grid
Power source
Grid
Cooling
Not established
Water use
Not established from a public source
Jobs
Not established from a public source
Public subsidy
Not established from a public source
Community reception
Contested
Source confidence
Reported by at least one credible outlet or filing

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

  1. July 2026
    Proposed
    Developer says the project is 'not on hold' but SEQRA/site plan review is temporarily paused while awaiting NYISO and National Grid clarification on transmission-upgrade costs and timeline; Town Supervisor John Flynn said NYISO's review could take 'several months.' Source: WKBW
  2. June 2026
    Proposed
    Hundreds of residents packed a Town of Tonawanda Planning Board meeting on June 3, 2026 opposing the proposed 300MW data center at the former Tonawanda Coke site; the Planning Board voted to table further discussion pending a revised site plan application. Source: Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM NPR)

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus in Tonawanda, Erie County, New York is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Hundreds of residents packed a June 3, 2026 Town of Tonawanda Planning Board meeting to oppose the project; concerns included cooling-system noise, comparisons to the Love Canal environmental disaster, and grid-strain concerns raised by Clean Air Coalition board chair Jim Jones.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.

Hundreds of residents packed a June 3, 2026 Town of Tonawanda Planning Board meeting to oppose the project; concerns included cooling-system noise, comparisons to the Love Canal environmental disaster, and grid-strain concerns raised by Clean Air Coalition board chair Jim Jones. NY State Senator Jeremy Zellner (co-sponsor of a first-in-the-nation statewide data center moratorium bill) and Assemblyman Bill Conrad have both raised concerns publicly. Planning Board tabled further discussion pending a revised site plan application.

Source: Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM NPR)

Power and water

Developer states ~91% emission-free electricity due to proximity to the Niagara Power Project (hydro) and Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station. SEQRA/site plan review temporarily paused while awaiting NYISO and National Grid clarification on transmission-upgrade costs/timeline. A $50M on-site electrical substation is planned.

Community opposition specifically cited cooling-system noise (24/7 operation, cited by residents as 75-105+ decibels) as a top concern at the June 3, 2026 Planning Board meeting; specific cooling technology not yet disclosed by the developer.

Notes on the record

Site: former Tonawanda Coke Corporation coke-manufacturing plant (operated 1917-2018; TCC bankruptcy), 3875 & 3800 River Road, Town of Tonawanda, Erie County NY - 140 acres. Brownfield developer Jon M. Williams completed acquisition Oct. 10, 2019 and has led an estimated $100M remediation; Honeywell (successor to Allied Chemical/TCC predecessor) also involved. 500,000 sq ft facility proposed. Coordinates are approximate for the River Road parcel. Note: one source names 'Niagara County' but Buffalo News, BTPM, and WBEN independently and consistently identify this as the Town of Tonawanda, Erie County (distinct from the separate City of North Tonawanda in Niagara County) - Erie County used here per majority/independent-source cross-check. NO STATUS CHANGE. As of June 2026 the SEQRA/site-plan review was paused pending NYISO and National Grid results; no permit or construction approval exists. Remains proposed. CONFIRMED ABSENCE (re-checked 2026-09-10, reporting dated 2026-07): the Riverview project had not requested any IDA subsidy as of this reporting, and Erie County's executive has said he would not support the county IDA granting it tax breaks.

What the record does not establish, and the document that would

In every fight on our tracker the decisive fact came out of a public records request. These are the requests for this site.

  • Tax abatements or other public subsidy
  • Permanent jobs promised
Which document closes each gap
Tax abatements or other public subsidy
The abatement, PILOT, or development agreement approved by the county, city, or development authority, and the state's data center sales tax exemption certificate if one was issued.
Permanent jobs promised
The economic development application or incentive agreement, which usually states a job commitment and a clawback.

Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.

Our reporting on this site

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

Questions people ask about this site

Is there opposition to the Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus in Tonawanda?

Yes. Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus in Tonawanda, Erie County, New York is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Hundreds of residents packed a June 3, 2026 Town of Tonawanda Planning Board meeting to oppose the project; concerns included cooling-system noise, comparisons to the Love Canal environmental disaster, and grid-strain concerns raised by Clean Air Coalition board chair Jim Jones.

Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus?

No lawsuit over Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus appears in the record we track as of September 10, 2026. Residents most often reach a lawyer over water supply, well drawdown, noise from cooling plant, property value, or a rezoning approved without the notice the ordinance required. If any of that is happening near this site, it is worth a review whether or not a case has been filed yet.

How much water does Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus use?

No water withdrawal figure for Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus is on record here. Cooling is recorded as unknown, which is the strongest available clue: closed loop and air cooled plant draw far less than evaporative cooling. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.

Who operates Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus, and how big is it?

Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus is the operator on record. Capacity on record is 300 MW. The site is recorded at 140 acres.

How to cite this page

SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Riverview Innovation & Technology Campus," updated September 10, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/riverview-innovation-tech-campus-tonawanda-ny.

Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.32.0 (September 7, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/riverview-innovation-tech-campus-tonawanda-ny, retrieved September 14, 2026.

Corrections with a public source are welcome at the Compute Atlas record or through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.

Sources for this record

As compiled and cited by Compute Atlas, with our own reporting appended. Archived links are used where the original has moved.

  1. 1.Developer: Proposed $2B AI data center on River Road not on hold, process temporarily delayed · WKBW · retrieved July 9, 2026
  2. 2.River Road data center on hold amid outcry from residents scarred by Tonawanda Coke fight · Buffalo News · retrieved July 9, 2026
  3. 3.Data center project at former Tonawanda Coke site 'on hold' · Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM NPR) · retrieved July 9, 2026
  4. 4.Residents pack meeting to oppose proposed data center at Tonawanda Coke site · Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM NPR) · retrieved July 9, 2026
  5. 5.Former coke plant near Buffalo eyed for 300MW data center · Data Center Dynamics · retrieved July 9, 2026
  6. 6.Data center project at former Tonawanda Coke site 'on hold' · Buffalo Toronto Public Media (BTPM NPR) · retrieved September 9, 2026

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