BIG BEAVER, Pa. — A group opposed to a proposed data center development in Big Beaver hosted its own town hall Monday night, drawing nearly 100 people to the Big Beaver Volunteer Fire Department.
The meeting comes about a month after data center company Switch held a community meeting about its plans for the former Pittsburgh International Race Complex property.
Organizers with the Big Beaver Association and Three Rivers Motorsport Preservation Society said they wanted residents to hear from environmental, legal and legislative experts about the project and its potential impacts.
Among the organizers was Dan Dennehy-Rodriguez with the Three Rivers Motorsport Preservation Society, a group formed by supporters of the former Pitt Race complex.
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Dennehy-Rodriguez said organizers wanted to provide residents with information they believe was missing from previous discussions about the project.
“They did not allow press. They did not make it a point to really listen to everyone in the room,” Rodriguez said of Switch’s earlier meeting.
Dennehy-Rodriguez said the goal of Monday’s town hall was to educate residents about data centers and help them better understand how the proposed development could affect the community.
“Be able to give this community an opportunity to learn about what a data center is, how it’s going to affect them, and what they can do in order to be able to ensure that their interests are protected,” Dennehy-Rodriguez said.
Switch is proposing a campus consisting of three data center buildings on roughly 400 acres of the former Pitt Race property.
For context, that area is approximately the size of 300 football fields.
Dennehy-Rodriguez said he hopes concerns raised during the meeting reach both Switch and local elected leaders.
Big Beaver officials voted in September 2025 to amend an ordinance allowing data centers in the township.
“We hope that they can participate and be a part of what we’re trying to do here, which is to educate,” Dennehy-Rodriguez said.
Several local officials were invited to attend the meeting, and some council members were present.
No representative from Switch attended.
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