MLP Ventures and developer Brian O’Neill had sought zoning relief that could allow the five-data-center project to proceed. The withdrawal does not end the dispute: the developers filed lawsuits last month in Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas challenging the township’s zoning rules, and the project’s fate remains uncertain.

The township said the withdrawn applications left no claims for the Zoning Hearing Board to consider. Earlier this month, the board moved to dismiss the developers’ appeals, saying it lacked jurisdiction to hear them. The developers and their attorney, Marc Kaplin, could not be reached for comment Tuesday about their next steps.

The campus was proposed in April for properties along Renaissance Boulevard and elsewhere in the township, with the facilities intended to serve artificial intelligence and biotechnology operations. Residents opposed the plan at public meetings, raising concerns about energy and water demand, noise, light pollution and effects on nearby property values. An online petition against the project drew more than 18,000 signatures.

Upper Merion’s Planning Commission voted in July against recommending three of the facilities, and the Board of Supervisors rejected all five in August. Township officials said the proposal did not provide sufficient information about community and environmental impacts and failed to meet zoning requirements adopted in March to regulate data centers.

The developers argue the newer rules should not apply because they submitted their applications just days before the ordinance was formally adopted. They say the project should be assessed under the previous zoning law, which they contend would treat the data centers as warehouses. The updated rules increase scrutiny of utility use and set requirements related to impacts on residential areas.

The developers have promoted projected economic benefits. An impact study commissioned by O’Neill said the King of Prussia project could support 15,000 construction jobs per year, create 717 permanent positions and generate $55.4 million annually in local tax revenue. The developers also said the facilities would generate electricity on site and use closed-loop cooling systems. Those figures and design claims were put forward by the project’s proponents.

The zoning fight comes amid wider debate over data center growth and its demands on local resources. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order in August requiring local approval before state permits can be granted and establishing measures related to energy infrastructure and public transparency. A Quinnipiac poll released this month found that 64% of likely Pennsylvania voters thought data centers would do more harm than good in the state.

MLP Ventures and O’Neill are also seeking approval for a separate, roughly 2 million-square-foot data center campus in neighboring Plymouth Township, proposed for the former Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant site on Conshohocken Road. That plan has also drawn opposition from residents.