A Google-linked company has had plans for an 181-acre data center campus approved in Bristow, Virginia, reports InsideNova.
Located in Prince William County, the data center development is being conducted by Delaware-based Sharpless Enterprises.
Sharpless Enterprises is looking to construct a campus with four data center buildings, an electric substation, several auxiliary equipment structures, and a small administrative building.
Plans for the campus were first submitted in November 2023 on a site along the north side of Wellington Road and west of Piney Branch Lane, land which was previously owned by Atlantic Research Corp, a producer, and tester of missiles and rocks under contract by the Department of Defense until 2005.
The site was already zoned for industrial use meaning permission did not need to be sought from lawmakers in Prince William County, but it did need approval from the Army Corps of Engineers due to the potential impact on nearby wetlands and streams. Atlantic Research Corp ran an EPA-mandated groundwater treatment system on the site from 1992 to 2018 to remove hazardous waste caused by its work.
The land in question is located south of CoreSite’s Manassas campus and the proposed PW Digital Gateway project from QTS and Compass which has generated significant controversy and motivated several bill proposals to limit data center developments, though received approval in December 2023.
Several hyperscalers are also looking to start developments in the area.
In 2023, Amazon submitted two special-use permit requests for a roughly 2.2 million sq ft (204,385 sqm) campus on about 117 acres at 5845 and 5945 Wellington Road - the western side of the former ARC site and directly next to Sharpless’ proposals.
Microsoft has also acquired land nearby on the opposite side of Piney Branch Lane and on Wellington Road to the east and south of Sharpless’ proposals.
