Prologis is looking to potentially expand its data center footprint in Sterling, Virginia.

First reported by BizJournal, the industrial real estate giant is seeking the long-term option to replace existing warehouses and parking lot with more data centers on land it owns in Loudoun County.

The 94-acre site encompasses three parcels at 23700 Pebble Run Place, 23845 Erins Run Drive, and 23965 Carters School Road.

The land currently houses three data centers, built around 2019 and totaling 475,000 square feet (44,130 sqm), as well as a 220,000 square foot (20,440 sqm) warehouse complex from 2005 dubbed the Dulles Commerce Center.

The requested rezoning would allow Prologis to demolish the warehouse complex and develop additional new data centers up to 100 feet tall.

BJ reports Prologis may be trying to grandfather in data center zoning to the sites amid a crackdown on by-right use by county officials.

The Washington Commanders recently filed a plan to allow data centers to be built on the site of its training facility in Ashburn, saying the move was to ensure the land retains its value and remains insulated from potential regulation changes.

The move aims largely at "future-proofing our buildings," ensuring the property can remain "useful and efficient to our customers many years from now," a Prologis spokesperson told the publication. At the moment, the existing buildings are nearly 100 percent occupied, with some tenants having leases lasting "another decade or so," the spokesperson added.

While the application requests extra site-wide density up to a theoretical ceiling of 4.1 million square feet, Prologis would only build "at most" 1.4 million square feet, the spokesperson said.

If the company is not granted approval, or decides not to use it, Prologis could repurpose the existing building or build anew and pivot the site to other allowed uses, including logistics, manufacturing, R&D, or even funeral homes.

The company filed for similar repurposing permissions nearby in June and January this year, as well as other sites last year.

The company is also currently developing a data center nearby in partnership with Skybox. The companies are developing a 30MW, 210,500 sq ft facility on 10 acres at 22675 Dulles Summit Court, some 500 ft away as the crow flies but a 1-mile drive.