QTS East Windsor campus (former McGraw-Hill site)
QTS upgraded and expanded a data center of about 554,000 square feet on the former McGraw-Hill campus; local outlets report the planning board approved a 272,000-square-foot second building after contested hearings. Also known as: East Windsor 1, QTS Investment Properties Princeton LLC.
Who is behind it
The record, newest first
Princeton Perspectives reported that plans for a second data center on the site had been submitted and approved; TAPinto's headline and summary say the planning board approved it with environmental safeguards. (Princeton Perspectives, July 15, 2026; TAPinto East Windsor/Hightstown, undated)
The township council approved Ordinance 2026-06, taking data centers off the permitted uses in three zones through Dec. 31, 2027; the text names no company. (East Windsor Township, June 2026; East Windsor Township, Nov. 2026; Princeton Perspectives, July 15, 2026)
QTS's page, last changed on this date, listed 70 MW or more of critical capacity, an on-site substation and plans for one more data center; an older copy of the page listed 553,930 square feet and 22 MW of then-planned capacity. (QTS Data Centers, May 21, 2026; QTS Data Centers, undated)
New Jersey 101.5 described the proposal as a two-story, 77-foot, 272,000-square-foot building beside the existing one of about 560,000 square feet, with JCP&L providing added service, according to plans shared by a Food & Water Watch organizer. (New Jersey 101.5, May 1, 2026)
The planning board heard more testimony on application PB25-006 without voting and carried the matter to May 4. (US Data Center Projects, April 30, 2026; TAPinto East Windsor/Hightstown, undated; East Windsor Township Planning Board, Nov. 2026)
Township officials joined QTS for a topping-out of the first stage of a multi-phase upgrade on the 194-acre site; QTS projected the first phase running in February 2025 and completion that April. (East Windsor Township, Nov. 19, 2024; East Windsor Township, Nov. 8, 2024)
The planning board approved a site plan and waiver extending the hours the emergency generator may run, a council member reported. (East Windsor Township Council, June 18, 2024)
Conflicts and open questions
- Acreage differs: 194 acres (township, New Jersey 101.5) versus a 52-acre campus (current QTS page). The township figure is the former McGraw-Hill site.
- Only TAPinto's headline and description were readable; the body, vote count and vote date were not, and no township record of the vote was found. The vote came after April 27. QTS's page, last changed May 21, 2026, still called the added building early in planning.
- Whether the moratorium touches the approved second building was not found.
- Princeton Perspectives says a data center had operated on the site for about 12 years before this work, first under McGraw-Hill.
- The township's adopted-ordinance list gives no date for 2026-06; June 2026 comes from Princeton Perspectives.
- Coordinates are approximate, from the operator's address.
The full record
- Status note
- The existing building is in use (New Jersey 101.5 says it was finished in 2025). Two outlets report the planning board approved a second building; the vote date was not confirmed, no township record of it was found, and no construction start was found.
- Power note
- 70 MW or more of critical capacity on the QTS page last changed May 21, 2026, which does not say whether that includes the planned second building; an older QTS page copy listed 22 MW as then-planned critical capacity. The second building's power is not given.
- Evidence
- Primary public records
- Size class
- 50 MW or more (tracker scope)