Public comments run through Nov. 9 on the draft permit for the former Princeton Nurseries site, where Princeton's mayor, university students and two congressional candidates want NJDEP to say no.
A data center of about 341,000 square feet is rising on the former Princeton Nurseries property at 4405 Route 1, South Brunswick. The facility's diesel backup generators still lack a final air permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Public comment on the draft permit closes Nov. 9, 2026.
The site borders Kingston and Princeton as well as South Brunswick, according to News 12.
Draft preconstruction permit PCP250001, tied to Program Interest 19525 and facility designation PN-DC1, authorizes 12 diesel-fired generators of 3,620 kilowatts each, roughly 43 megawatts of combined capacity. Each engine may run up to 28 hours a year for testing and maintenance, plus additional hours during power outages, construction disruption and voltage reductions ordered by PJM, the regional grid operator.
The permit caps annual emissions at 12.65 tons of nitrogen oxides and 3.52 tons of carbon monoxide, with smaller limits for particulate matter, benzene and formaldehyde. The public notice states that a health-risk assessment found the associated health risk "negligible" under agency guidelines.
A preconstruction permit is NJDEP's approval to build and operate the engines. It is separate from the land-use approvals South Brunswick granted in 2025. The draft permit treats each generator as an individual minor source, according to TAPinto. NJDEP posted the draft permit Aug. 20 and revised the public notice Oct. 6 to extend the comment period.
The permit lists a dozen generators; critics say there are 20
The draft permit lists 12 generators. An Oct. 1 statement from Princeton's mayor and council, an Oct. 4 statement from the Undergraduate Student Government Senate and reporting by TAPinto and NJ.com all put the count at 20. TAPinto reported an estimated 400,000 gallons of diesel fuel would be stored on site. The Climate Revolution NJ campaign's fact sheet says 12, matching the permit. Nobody has reconciled the figures publicly. The count matters because the permit evaluates each engine separately, so the facility's total emissions depend on how many engines it runs.
South Brunswick approved the data center in 2025
South Brunswick's planning board signed off on the data center in May 2025, approving the site owned by WRV Nurseries South Brunswick Owner LLC. The site’s redeveloper is the WV RS South Brunswick Urban Renewal consortium of Woodmont Properties, Russo Development and Vision Real Estate. A consortium spokesperson said in May 2025 the project would be "an excellent economic driver for the township as both a tax ratable and a source of quality jobs." The consortium also said extensive environmental testing had been done and that an environmental impact study had acknowledged the project's impacts, according to NJ.com.
For more than 80 years the 143-acre tract was home to Princeton Nurseries, which the New Jersey Historic Trust calls "once the largest commercial nursery in the United States" before it ceased operations in 1995. Its preserved core is on the National Register of Historic Places. Princeton University sold the tract in January 2024 for nearly $22 million; University spokesperson Michael Hotchkiss said the school has had "no connection to it since that time."
South Brunswick residents Mark and Katherine Smith sued South Brunswick Township and the owner in May 2024, arguing the redevelopment conflicted with the township's Master Plan. A Middlesex County Superior Court judge ruled for the township on Aug. 28 after a trial. The Smiths appealed the same day, according to TAPinto; their appeal is pending.
Bloomberg is listed in state environmental records for the site, according to an Oct. 22 report by NJ.com. Bloomberg spokesman Ty Trippet said the generators are all emergency backup generators and the facility would draw a maximum of 30 megawatts. He described the project as "a further investment in the region that will generate substantial property tax revenue that will benefit the local community." Sentinel Data Centers, the project's developer, has not disclosed a tenant or responded to requests for comment from The Daily Princetonian and NJ.com.
Opponents pressed the state in statements and in public testimony
Princeton Mayor Mark Freda said at a Sept. 28 council meeting: "Having diesel generators in today's day and age makes absolutely no sense."
Princeton's mayor and council put the objection in writing Oct. 1. Their statement argues the generators were "misleadingly characterized as 'minor sources' of emissions," and says they would send emissions across municipal boundaries, "negatively affecting air quality and public health in Princeton's residential neighborhoods and at two of our elementary schools." The statement urges NJDEP to "deny the air permit application for the center in its present form."
The Senate of the Undergraduate Student Government of Princeton University adopted a statement Oct. 4, submitted by U-Council Chair Isaac Barsoum and Treasurer Marvel Jem Roth. The statement echoes the municipality's in noting that the generators were "disingenuously" labeled minor sources, and argues that "in sum, they will constitute a major source of pollution," citing the state environmental justice law, N.J.S.A. 13:1D-157. The U-Council urges the agency to reject the application.
Princeton municipal Councilman David Cohen said at an Oct. 6 candidate forum that Princeton weighed a data-center moratorium and concluded none was needed because Princeton's zoning does not allow data centers.
Roughly 100 people attended a public hearing Sept. 23 at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal, and about 40 gave testimony over three hours, according to TAPinto. Mary Saudargas, a Princeton resident and a member of Food and Water Action NJ, pointed to the $1.07 million fine NJDEP announced Sept. 22 against the DataOne data center in Vineland, where 62 natural-gas generators ran without required permits. NJDEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak called it the largest enforcement action taken against a data center in New Jersey. Nothing in the South Brunswick permit record alleges unpermitted operation; Sentinel is seeking approval through the preconstruction permitting process, according to Town Topics.
"The public has not been properly informed," Jill Feldman, a Princeton resident, told the agency. "What happened in Vineland is embarrassing, and it could easily happen here," Saudargas said, urging the agency to reclassify the facility "as a major source of pollution." Kingston resident Cyndi Shattuck told the agency: "You were supposed to protect us from this."
Many attendees had learned of the project only weeks earlier, according to TAPinto. "It's only been in the last month, maybe a little bit longer than that that people have truly been aware of it and been able to raise their voices," Kingston resident Karin Gillespie told News 12. Some residents want the project reconsidered entirely, according to News 12. One father, who lives down the road, told News 12 his son, who has autism, is sensitive to sound: "His special education program is magnificent. His teachers are wonderful and if he loses that, I don't know what we're going to do." South Brunswick resident Janice Gossman said: "A lot of people say it's too late. We have to try."
State legislators have moved to regulate data centers
The state Senate passed S4304 Oct. 22 by a 38-0 vote. The bill, from state Sens. Linda Greenstein (D, 14th District) and Brian Stack (D, 33rd District), would bar agreements meant to hide data-center development details from the public, including certain nondisclosure pacts with municipal agencies or property sellers. Greenstein, whose district borders South Brunswick, has said her difficulty obtaining information about the South Brunswick project helped motivate the bill.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed S3379 on Aug. 27, which obliges data-center owners and operators to file twice-yearly reports on water and energy use with the state Board of Public Utilities. The mandate expires after three years unless the BPU votes to continue it.
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D, NJ-12), whose district includes South Brunswick, said: "This is about more than one data center. It is about the health of our families, the protection of our air and water and the long-term future of our communities," she said. "Pollution does not stop at municipal borders. The impacts of this project will extend far beyond South Brunswick, threatening the health and quality of life of residents across the surrounding communities."
Voters in NJ-12 choose Coleman's successor Nov. 3, six days before comments close. Both major-party candidates have gone on the record about the project. Democrat Adam Hamawy said: "Our communities deserve the right to decide their own future, not have it dictated by billionaires and corporate developers. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has a responsibility to protect public health, and that starts with denying this air permit." Republican Gregg Mele said: "Residents deserve a complete, independently reviewed accounting of generator emissions, noise, water demand, and electricity infrastructure costs—including all planned phases."
NJDEP will publish written answers to every comment before it rules on the permit, agency spokesperson Vincent Grassi said. Construction continues, and the Daily Princetonian reports that completion is on track for the end of 2026.
Written comments may be submitted via the department's permit comment form, referencing PI 19525 and PCP250001, through Nov. 9.
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Sources
• Ballotpedia, "New Jersey's 12th Congressional District election, 2026" (accessed October 26, 2026)
• Climate Revolution NJ, South Brunswick data center campaign page and fact sheet (updated October 25, 2026)
• Lucy Harper, The Daily Princetonian, "'You were supposed to protect us from this': Backlash grows over Princeton Nurseries data center" (October 7, 2026)
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Stationary Sources, Draft Air Pollution Control Preconstruction Permit PCP250001, Program Interest No. 19525, Facility PN-DC1 (run August 19, 2026; posted August 20, 2026)
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Stationary Sources, Public Notices page, PN-DC1 notice and comment-period revision (revised October 6, 2026)
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, "Sherrill Administration Issues Record $1 Million Fine to DataOne Data Center in Vineland for Building and Operating 62 Power Generators Without DEP Permits" (Release 26/P44) (September 22, 2026)
• New Jersey Division of Elections, Official List of Candidates for House of Representatives, General Election, November 3, 2026 (September 4, 2026)
• New Jersey Historic Trust, "Princeton Nurseries" historic site profile (accessed October 26, 2026)
• News 12 New Jersey, "South Brunswick residents push back against planned data center" (October 26, 2026)
• NJ Advance Media, NJ.com, "Data centers in N.J.: new law targets electricity and water use" (August 28, 2026)
• NJ Advance Media, NJ.com, "Who's behind controversial N.J. data center? State records hint it's this global media giant" (October 22, 2026)
• NJ Legislature, Bill No. S4304, "An Act concerning non-disclosure agreements and the development of data centers" (introduced May 18, 2026; passed Senate October 22, 2026)
• NJ Senate Democrats, "Greenstein, Stack Bill to Increase Transparency in Data Center Development Passes Senate" (October 22, 2026)
• NJ Senate Democrats, "Brian P. Stack," legislator biography (accessed October 26, 2026)
• Office of the Mayor and Council of Princeton, "Statement from Mayor and Council on the Proposed Data Center in South Brunswick" (October 1, 2026)
• Steven Rodas, NJ.com, "Tug-of-war erupts over huge stretch of N.J. land. Farmer's paradise or a data center?" (May 11, 2025)
• TAPinto Princeton, "'This Project is Catastrophic' – Data Center Backlash Comes to Princeton" (September 24, 2026)
• TAPinto South Brunswick, "Princeton's South Brunswick Neighbors Lose a Round in Court Against Data Center but Launch an Appeal" (September 3, 2026)
• Town Topics, "Princeton to NJDEP: Deny Data Center Permit" (October 7, 2026; updated October 8, 2026)
• Town Topics, "Sherrill Signs Law Requiring Data Center Reporting" (September 2, 2026)
• Undergraduate Student Government of Princeton University, "A Statement in Opposition to Data Center Development in South Brunswick, N.J." (adopted October 4, 2026)
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