Amazon Web Services has proposed building 1.75 million square feet (162,600 sq m) of data center space at a site in Loudoun County, Virginia.

The company bought the 25020 Willard Road land for $73m late last year, and is now seeking to rezone the 100.18-acre property from industrial and mineral extraction use to general industry, so that data centers can be built.

The project, which was first reported by the Washington Business Journal, is currently scheduled to be heard by the Loudoun County Planning Commission in late July.

Just off data center alley

“This application contributes to the public welfare in that it has minimal impact on county facilities and services while generating a significant amount of taxes for the county to use to benefit its citizens,” the rezoning application, filed on behalf of AWS by DLA Piper LLP, states.

The site, just south of Dulles International Airport, is near numerous other data center facilities, including those operated by AWS. Loudoun is home to around 18 million square feet of data center space, more than five million of which came online last year - according to the local government.

Amazon has spent hundreds of millions acquiring land across Northern Virginia for data centers, and is also set to open a huge office in the commonwealth as it courts government and military contracts. Most recently, the company applied for fast track planning permission to build three more data centers in Loudoun County, after shelling out $20m for the land.