Data Center Registry
White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment
Newark, New Castle County, Delaware
White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment is a proposed data center in Newark, Delaware (New Castle County), operated by Shelbourne. The public record puts it at 44 acres. 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
- Shelbourne
- Facility type
- Data center
- Location
- White Clay Center Drive, Newark, New Castle County, DE
- Coordinates
- 39.6828, -75.7516 (approximate)
- Power capacity
- Not established from a public source
- Land
- 44 acres
- Investment
- Not established from a public source
- Announced
- Not established from a public source
- Utility
- Not established from a public source
- Cooling
- Not established from a public source
- 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.
- June 2026ProposedNon-binding pause negotiated by New Castle County Councilman Tim Sheldon with developer's attorney Shawn Tucker (email dated 2026-06-10), contingent on the county approving an exploratory-plan application that would grandfather the site under pre-2026 zoning and exempt it from the county's new data-center ordinance. Developer retains the legal right to build a data center on the property. Source: Newark Post / Spotlight Delaware
- December 2025ProposedExploratory plans filed with New Castle County in early December 2025 to redevelop White Clay Center Drive industrial buildings (including former JPMorganChase offices) into a 676,000 sq ft complex; a later filing described an 847,000 sq ft data center complex on the 44-acre site, demolishing seven existing buildings for three light-industrial buildings plus a guard shack. Source: Spotlight Delaware
Opposition and litigation at this site
Yes. White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment in Newark, New Castle County, Delaware is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. A county councilman publicly brokered a pause after community/political pressure, but the arrangement is a non-binding handshake conditioned on a zoning workaround; the councilman acknowledged its fragility ('If I'm not there, there's no promises').
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.
A county councilman publicly brokered a pause after community/political pressure, but the arrangement is a non-binding handshake conditioned on a zoning workaround; the councilman acknowledged its fragility ('If I'm not there, there's no promises'). The developer (Shelbourne) and its attorney did not respond to press requests for comment.
Notes on the record
Reported square footage differs across filings/coverage as plans evolved: 676,000 sq ft (Spotlight Delaware, plans filed early Dec 2025) vs. 847,000 sq ft (Newark Post, later filing), both recorded here rather than resolved to one figure. Capacity in MW is explicitly 'undetermined' per Delmarva Power's internal project list obtained via FOIA and reported by Technical.ly (sourceIndex 3), so capacityMw is left unset. Location precision is approximate: this pin is Newark, DE's city centroid (OSM); the specific parcel on White Clay Center Drive (near the Ogletown Road/Del. 273 and CarMax intersection) did not resolve via US Census or OSM Nominatim geocoding, tried the bare street name, a structured street+city+state query, and the 'CarMax Newark DE' landmark; all returned no match.
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.
- Power capacity in megawatts
- Cooling method and water use
- Tax abatements or other public subsidy
- Permanent jobs promised
- Which utility serves it
Which document closes each gap
- Power capacity in megawatts
- The utility's large load service agreement, the interconnection request in the grid operator's queue, or the electrical site plan in the permit file.
- Cooling method and water use
- The water service agreement, any groundwater appropriation permit, and the mechanical narrative in the site plan.
- 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.
- Which utility serves it
- The electric service agreement or the utility's filing with the state public utility commission.
Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.
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.
- STAR Campus Data Center & Cogeneration Plant (The Data Centers, LLC) · Newark · The Data Centers, LLC1 mi · Cancelled · Opposed
- St. Georges Business Park & Lighthouse Farms · St. Georges · Parkway Gravel Inc.10 mi · Proposed · 300 MW · Contested
- Project Washington (Starwood Digital Ventures) · Delaware City · Starwood Digital Ventures11 mi · Proposed · 1.2 GW · In litigation
- Sentinel East Whiteland Data Center · East Whiteland Township · Sentinel Data Centers27 mi · Under construction · 300 MW · In litigation
Questions people ask about this site
Is there opposition to the White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment in Newark?
Yes. White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment in Newark, New Castle County, Delaware is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. A county councilman publicly brokered a pause after community/political pressure, but the arrangement is a non-binding handshake conditioned on a zoning workaround; the councilman acknowledged its fragility ('If I'm not there, there's no promises').
Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment?
No lawsuit over White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment appears in the record we track as of September 12, 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 White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment use?
No water withdrawal figure for White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment is on record here. Water use is rarely published voluntarily; it usually surfaces through a utility service agreement or a state withdrawal permit, both of which are public records. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.
Who operates White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment, and how big is it?
Shelbourne is the operator on record. No capacity figure is on record for this site. The site is recorded at 44 acres.
How to cite this page
SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "White Clay Corporate Center Data Center Redevelopment," updated September 12, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/shelbourne-white-clay-newark-de.
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/shelbourne-white-clay-newark-de, 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.Two New Castle County industrial projects may become data centers · Spotlight Delaware · retrieved September 12, 2026
- 2.Data center complex proposed near Newark · Newark Post · retrieved September 12, 2026
- 3.County councilman says Newark data center plan paused after deal · Newark Post / Spotlight Delaware · retrieved September 12, 2026
- 4.Newly public records reveal four pending Delaware data center projects · Technical.ly · retrieved September 12, 2026
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