County planners in Culpeper County, Northern Virginia, have denied a data center application in Brandy Station.
Elsewhere in Northern Virginia, two data center proposals are set to go before Loudoun County's Board of Supervisors.
The application for a campus in Brandy Station was made by Cupeper Acquisitions LLC, which was seeking to rezone 426 acres to light industrial, reports the Culpeper Star Exponent.
The parcel lies between Bel Pre and Stevenburg Road, with the development on the northern part of the parcel along Norfolk Southern railroad and Brandy Road.
Described as a $12bn project, the proposal was for 4.6 million sq ft (427,354 sqm) of data center space across nine multi-story buildings. It is estimated that, should the development go through, it could generate $17m in economic output annually for the county, and $150m in tax revenue per year.
This is the second data center proposal for the site that has been denied. In 2022, land owner David Martin sought to develop a data center on 88 acres in the area, but after receiving an initial denial from the planning commission, withdrew his proposal.
Both developments faced opposition from Brandy Station residents seeking to protect the rural and historic nature of the area.
The land owned by Martin was previously part of a technology zone, though this label was ditched in 2023.
“The applicant realizes that the property was removed from the county’s Technology Zone in 2023, but firmly believes that data center use is the best utilization of the property,” said the project narrative. “Changing the use to a data center will be a higher and better use and generate significant tax revenues to benefit the county.”
The project is estimated to need a 8-12 month planning period, followed by 18-24 months of construction.
While county planners have denied the proposal for the "Bel Pre Tech Park,' it is still yet to be seen by the Board of Supervisors. The applicant has requested that this been delayed until at least August 2024.
Instead of a data center development, local residents are calling for the site to be dedicated a "state park" where historic restoration and hotels are prioritized.
Sarah Parmelee from the Piedmont Environmental Council described the proposal as an “industrialization of Culpeper working farms and forests," adding that it would require three substations and "at least two miles of new transmission line through the heart of Culpeper's undeveloped farmland."
Parmelee added: "Approving this project would have significant negative impacts on the community of Brandy Station."
Culpeper County tabled another data center application - the Red Ace Data Center Campus - last month. A proposal from Cielo Digital Infrastructure was passed in December 2023, and several other developers are seeking permission for data center campuses in the county including DataBank.
Two data center applications sent to Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
Elsewhere in Northern Virginia, Loudoun County's Board of Supervisors is set to review two data center proposals.
Both are set to go before the Board of Supervisors on July 10, the projects in question are the Innovation Gateway data center and the Hiddenwood Assemblage data center proposal.
The Innovation Gateway project would be located along Route 28 and the Old Ox Road interchange and would see 700,000 sq ft (65,030 sqm) of data center space on the 29-acre plot.
In February 2024, the proposal was recommended for denial by the planning commission which argued that the development was "incompatible" with the nearby "Urban Transit Center" designation, described as "dense, urban, walkable, mixed-use and transit-oriented uses" close to Metrorail stations - in this case, the Innovation Station Metrorail stop just one mile from the site.
The Hiddenwood Assemblage data center proposal, on the other hand, was recommended for approval by the planning commission in May 2024.
The application was filed by JK Technology Holdings and is for an 869,000 sq ft (80,733 sqm) data center development on land by Hiddenwood Lane.
