Andover NJ Data Center: What Homeowners Need to Know
If you live in Sussex County, you've probably seen the videos from Wednesday night's
Andover Township meeting. It got loud, it got physical, and it spread across social media within hours.
I've had clients, neighbors, and friends reach out asking what's actually happening, what's rumor, and what it means for their home. So instead of answering it twenty times in DMs, I'm putting the straight version here.
No spin. No sides. Just the facts and what they mean for the local market.
What's actually being proposed
There is no formal application for a data center filed with Andover Township. That's the first thing worth understanding. Despite the intensity of the discussion, no developer has officially submitted plans, no site plan is under review, and no shovel is anywhere near the ground.
What does exist is a piece of land, a series of zoning decisions, and a lot of speculation about what could come next.
The site at the center of the conversation is the former Newton Airport, located along Route 206 and Stickles Pond Road. The airport closed in 2013 and the property has remained largely undeveloped since. It's a significant parcel in a part of the township that has historically been rural in character.
The zoning timeline that lit the fuse
Two township decisions matter here.
August 2025: The Andover Township Committee amended its zoning code to allow data centers as a permitted use. According to public statements from Mayor Tom Walsh, the meeting was advertised, a public hearing was held, and very few residents attended at the time. That code change is the foundation of everything happening now.
April 2026: The committee passed an ordinance raising the maximum allowable building height for data centers from 50 feet to 65 feet. This is the vote that turned a quiet zoning matter into a public controversy. Critics argue the height change appears tailored to a specific potential development. A group of residents has since retained an attorney and is challenging the amendments under New Jersey's Municipal Land Use Law.
What happened at the May 7 meeting
The meeting was moved to the Hillside Park barn to accommodate the crowd. Roughly 300 residents attended. Public comment ran long, the room got tense, and a resident was forcibly removed by police after speaking. Footage of the removal spread widely on social media within hours.
Mayor Walsh has publicly stated that no formal application has been submitted and that concerns about the project are premature. Residents in the room disagreed, with several questioning whether tax incentives or PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) arrangements have been discussed behind the scenes. The committee did not confirm or deny specific negotiations.
That's where things stand as of this writing.
Why this matters for the local real estate market
Here's where I want to be careful, because this is the question I'm getting asked the most and the one most likely to be misused.
Right now, mechanically, nothing has changed. No site plan exists. No construction is happening. The current
Sussex County market is still moving, and correctly priced listings are still generating multiple offers. Homes in
Andover,
Newton,
Sparta, Lake Mohawk, and the surrounding areas are continuing to trade based on the same fundamentals as last month.
What has changed is sentiment. Buyer behavior is influenced by uncertainty, and uncertainty is now part of the conversation in this corner of Sussex County. That doesn't mean values are dropping. It means buyers shopping along the 206 corridor are likely to ask more questions, request more information, and in some cases factor it into their offer strategy.
For Sellers: This introduces a timing question. Not a panic question. A timing question. If you were planning to list in the next 6 to 12 months and your home is in proximity to the proposed site, it's worth a real conversation about pricing strategy, marketing approach, and how to position your home to buyers who will inevitably ask.
For Buyers: The playbook is different. Don't let a 90 second video make a 30 year decision for you. Look at the actual map. Look at the actual distance from the proposed site. Look at the actual zoning of the home you're considering. Then make an informed decision.
What this could look like long term
I'm not going to pretend to know how this resolves. Nobody does. There are several possible paths.
The zoning amendments could be rescinded under legal pressure or political pressure, and the project never moves forward. The amendments could survive, an application could be filed, and the project could move through standard land use review with public hearings, environmental review, and traffic studies. Any of these are realistic.
What is true across all those scenarios is that this story is going to play out over months, not days. The viral moment will fade. The actual decisions will be made in less dramatic meetings, with fewer cameras, by the same governing body. If you care about the outcome, the meetings that matter most are the quiet ones.
What I'd recommend doing this week
One: Go to the next township meeting. Watch with your own eyes. Read the body language. Listen to the actual questions being asked and the actual answers being given. Social media is a poor substitute for being in the room.
Two: Read the actual ordinance. Both the August 2025 amendment and the April 2026 height change are public documents. The text matters. The comment section does not.
Three: Talk to neighbors who were in the room. Multiple perspectives, including ones that disagree with each other, will give you a more accurate picture than any single video clip.
If you have specific questions about your street, your block, or how this might affect your specific situation, that's a
conversation I'm happy to have one on one. But the goal of this post isn't to drum up business. It's to give my neighbors and clients a calm, factual starting point.
Get informed. Stay calm. Make decisions based on your own situation, not the loudest voice in the comments.
I'll update this post as the situation develops.
Have questions about your home or your neighborhood?
Reach out anytime. I'm a local Realtor, a Sussex County resident, and a neighbor before I'm anything else.
Tony Erzene is a Realtor and co-founder of The Sold Collective at Keller Williams Integrity, serving Sussex, Morris, Passaic, and Orange Counties. He lives and works in the area he serves.
