Brad Chambers: "The McGinness property should not have been purchased by our council in the first place."
Columbia Borough Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to reject a $6.35 million bid for the former McGinness Airport property, in a four-and-a-half hour meeting that drew a standing-room-only crowd.
The sole bid came from Saadia Holdings LLC, a New York-based company that manages retail properties and owns a large distribution center in Lancaster County. Residents widely believed the 41-acre site on Manor Street, currently known as the McGinness Innovation Park, was being eyed for AI data center development.
More than 300 residents packed the Columbia Borough Fire Hall, which had replaced the municipal building as the meeting venue in anticipation of heavy attendance. At one point, the crowd had swelled to between 500 and 600 attendees, some of whom were asked to leave the hall due to fire regulations. Roughly 40 residents spoke during public comment, and a petition against data center development that had gathered nearly 1,500 signatures was presented.
Dennis Wolpert: "Nobody included us as taxpayers and residents of this town about our opinion whether we should buy that property down there."
Speakers raised a wide range of concerns, including property values, potential environmental damage to the Susquehanna River, increased water and energy consumption, industrial noise, and the limited number of jobs such a facility would create. Many argued the property would better serve Columbia's emerging identity as a recreation-focused river town, with calls for housing, tourism, or community-centered development instead.
The bid ultimately failed on a technical flaw. Council Vice President Heather Zink explained that Saadia's proposal did not guarantee payment within a state-required 60-day window following a bid award. The company had sought to delay payment until permits were approved, a timeline that could have exceeded that deadline. An attorney for Saadia told the council she was not authorized to modify the bid's terms on the spot, leaving council little choice but to vote no.
Council members acknowledged the borough's financial situation. The property, purchased in 2021, has yet to generate revenue, and officials noted a significant running deficit. Supporters of the sale argued it represented an opportunity for immediate funding and future tax income. Those arguments, however, did not sway the outcome.
Transparency concerns also surfaced throughout the meeting. Pennsylvania's sealed bid law limited what council could disclose about Saadia's intentions ahead of the vote. Data centers are already permitted by right under the property's current zoning, meaning future development could potentially move forward without additional public hearings.
A proposed ordinance to regulate data centers in the borough remains in draft form and was tabled for further review, leaving the community without clear regulatory guidelines. Pennsylvania law requires municipalities to zone for all purposes, making it likely the council will revisit the issue.
With the bid rejected, the future of the McGinness property remains open. Council may reopen the bidding process, pursue alternative development partnerships, or revisit the borough's zoning framework before entertaining new proposals.
