New Jersey developer sues town for $300 million over AI data centre ban

A New Jersey property developer has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $300 million in damages after a township reversed its zoning rules to block artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, escalating a dispute that began with plans for two warehouses on vacant farmland. Hexa Builders, a Princeton-based development company, sued Monroe Township in Gloucester County in June 2026, accusing local officials of changing land-use rules and obstructing its revised application. The controversy intensified after residents opposed the prospect of a data centre near established residential areas. The township subsequently adopted ordinances removing data centres from the developer's redevelopment site and prohibiting them across the municipality. The lawsuit challenges the legality of those decisions and raises broader questions about local planning powers as demand for AI computing infrastructure grows.How the dispute began with two warehousesHexa Builders had been pursuing development of a property at 3043 Black Horse Pike in Williamstown, part of a roughly 159-acre redevelopment area in Monroe Township. In September 2022, the township adopted a redevelopment plan for the site, which was sub...