Local Officials Slam Brakes On 3 Virginia Data Center Campuses

In just the past week, three separate Virginia data center projects have been rejected or recommended for denial by local officials amid growing local pushback in the world’s largest data center market.

Lawmakers in Chesterfield County, Fauquier County and the city of Chesapeake all voted against proposed data center campuses. Together, the three projects represent close to 1,000 acres of new development — and around 4.5M SF of data centers — that are now very much in jeopardy. 

In Chesterfield, the future of one of the largest planned projects in the booming Richmond-area data center market is in doubt after planning officials recommended the denial of zoning changes required for a proposed 740-acre campus. Denver-based developer Tract applied in November to rezone the site for up to 2M SF of data center space across as many as 11 buildings.

While the final decision on the proposed rezoning rests with the county’s Board of Supervisors, Chesterfield’s Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend against approving the changes, citing potential traffic impacts and a lack of details on how the site would be developed compared to similar proposals, Richmond BizSense reports.  

On Wednesday, the Fauquier County Planning Commission similarly voted to recommend denial of land use changes needed for a major data center project: a 202-acre campus near the town of Remington branded as “Gigaland.” Backed by a local real estate investor and the CEO of a window provider, the Gigaland campus would encompass 2.2M SF of data centers across seven two-story buildings, with a water treatment facility and four electrical substations on-site.

First reported by Fauquier Now, planning commissioners ultimately voted 4-1 against the project, echoing concerns from some residents that the project undermined the county’s data center development policies and posed a risk to the area’s rural character. 

A day earlier, lawmakers in the southern Virginia city of Chesapeake unanimously voted to reject a rezoning proposal that would have allowed the construction of a 350K SF data center. Slated for a 22.6-acre site, the project, pitched by a longtime local developer, would have been the region’s first major data center, WHRO reported. 

Concerns about the Etheridge Lakes Data Center project focused on environmental impacts on nearby residential communities, particularly noise from generators and HVAC systems. 

These three decisions by local governments across the state reflect the increasingly perilous political landscape facing data center firms, particularly in Virginia.

A growing number of major data center developments are being delayed as proposed projects that once flew under the radar now routinely provoke fierce backlash and organized opposition rooted in local environmental and quality-of-life concerns. In Virginia’s most important data center hubs like Prince William and Loudoun counties, data centers have become central issues in local elections, and proposed projects face growing scrutiny from lawmakers and lawsuits from residents. 

The issue isn't unique to Virginia. According to a report from Data Center Watch, local opposition has impacted $64B worth of data center projects across the U.S.