Developer Proposes 9M SF Data Center Campus In Virginia

A developer has proposed a 500-acre data center campus in King George County, Virginia, the same county where a planned $6B Amazon project has faced opposition.

Potomac Development Group has unveiled plans for an estimated 9M SF of data center space in the community of Dahlgren, Virginia, The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reports. The project, branded Dahlgren West, would be one of the largest data center campuses in the region, with the developers predicting between 10 and 15 buildings. 

The site of the proposed campus is off U.S. 301, about 3 miles south of the Navy base in Dahlgren. The heavily wooded property, which has access to 230,000-volt transmission lines, has been marketed for years as a potential site for a range of commercial, residential and industrial projects. 

Sections of the 500-acre parcel would need to be rezoned to allow data centers. Potomac Development Group hasn't filed any plans with county or state officials, but the firm has launched a website with information about the project ahead of a planned meeting with community stakeholders this week to gather feedback on the proposal.

The company hopes to break ground on the project at some point next year, according to the Free Lance-Star. 

Virginia-based Potomac Development Group is a newcomer to the booming data center sector. The Chantilly-based firm has a portfolio of commercial, logistics and multifamily properties. A company principal told the Free Lance-Star the firm doesn't intend to lead the build-out of the proposed King George campus but plans to prepare the site before turning it over to one or more end users. 

The developer faces an uncertain political landscape in King George County as it pursues the required approvals for the campus. 

Located around halfway between D.C. and Richmond, the county has no large-scale data centers and only one major project in the pipeline, a $6B, 869-acre Amazon data center campus on the site of a former power plant that was approved by the King George County Board of Supervisors last year.

But in January, the newly reconstructed board voted to renegotiate a key part of the county’s agreement with the tech giant, putting the project’s future in doubt. The changes come after significant turnover on the board to start the year, with skeptics of data center development in the county taking over a number of board positions, including chair. 

While data center developers in King George County may face challenges, the greater Fredericksburg region as a whole has seen an influx of data center development over the past year, with major projects planned in Caroline, Louisa, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties.