Pittsylvania County's Board of Supervisors has approved a land rezoning request for almost 950 acres for a data center in Virginia.

Elsewhere in Virginia, a developer has withdrawn plans for a data center in Fauquier County, Leesburg in Loudoun County has established a data center tax category, and Fairfax County is debating its data center zoning rules.

Pittsylvania County gives the go-ahead to 200MW data center project

Known as the Route 58 East Data Center Campus, the 200MW data center is set to be developed on 946 acres of land in the county close to Virginia's southern border.

The decision to approve rezoning the land from agricultural and residential to industrial was made unanimously on July 16, reports 10 News, following a recommendation for approval by the Planning Commission in June 2024.

According to the Pittsylvania County Industrial Development, the project could see up to $5 billion in investment, could create 500 jobs, and contribute around $120 million in tax revenue over the next 10 to 15 years.

The decision has faced some animosity from local residents expressing concern about the traffic, noise, and light that could be caused by the project.

Local resident Ann Smith said: "I don’t think we need to continue to be the dumping grounds for everything negative that comes into Pittsylvania County."

The data center development will be required to meet county ordinances surrounding noise and to adhere to "Dark Sky" principles that limit light pollution at night.

The intended end user for the project has yet to be shared. At the time the data center was proposed, it was revealed that those involved included those in Southside Investing's planned housing and commercial community in the Tunstall area, alongside other “local investors."

The next step for the development is to apply for a special use permit with the Planning Commission in September. Construction is currently slated to start in the next 12 to 18 months.

Developer withdraws data center project for Catlett Station in Fauquier County

The developer behind a data center project at Catlett Road and Gaskins Lane has withdrawn its rezoning application, reports Fauquier Now.

A lawyer representing Headwaters Site Development LLC, the company seeking to rezone 67 acres from industrial park to business park in Fauquier County, sent a letter to the Fauquier County Chief of Planning saying: "On behalf of the Applicant for the Catlett Project, we hereby withdraw the application. After careful consideration, we have decided not to proceed with the rezoning and special exception at this time."

This decision shortly follows a previous letter from the lawyer stating that the developer was considering alternative development options for the property.

The application, which had been scheduled for a Planning Commission public hearing on July 18, would have seen up to 1.4 million square feet (130,050 sqm) of data centers constructed on the east of Catlett Road on Route 28 and north of Gaskins Lane.

The project had been long in the making.

In 2021, landowner Catlett Station II LLC filed to rezone 60 acres of land for data center development. At the time the Catlett Data Center Park concept plan showed two data center structures totaling 450,000 square feet (41,800 sqm). Catlett Station II LLC previously said it was under contract to sell the property to an unnamed “national, well-regarded data center developer” who planned to develop the site for an also-unnamed “very desirable tenant.”

In December 2022, a ‘Texas-based data center developer’ – since revealed as Headwaters – signed agreements with landowners to acquire the two plots of land in Vint Hill and Catlett.

While the data center project has now been withdrawn, other proposals may come.

Leesburg creates data center tax category

Leesburg in Loudoun County has established a tax category specifically for data centers.

The tax rate applies to computer equipment and is at a rate of 75 cents per $100 of assessed value. This is expected to generate $10-12 million annually after data centers approved or planned in town are constructed.

The decision to establish a tax category is part of the agreement that will enable the annexation of the Compass Creek property.

Compass Creek includes two data center campuses. As part of the annexation, the tax rate will remain the same for at least five years.

Fairfax County Supervisors delay zoning ordinances decision until July 30

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has delayed a decision on changing zoning ordinances until the end of the month.

The zoning change, if approved, would enable data centers to be built closer to homes - around 200 feet from residential properties as a "by right" use.

Others argue that the standards should be stricter, with distances increase to at least 500 feet and requiring new facilities to be built at least a mile away from metro stations.

In a four and a half hour July 16 meeting, the board heard from 65 speakers.

Among those speakers were residents voicing concerns about the impact it will have on their lives, though others acknowledge the economic benefits data centers can bring to an area.

At the end of the meeting, chairman Jeffrey McKay said: "We’ve been at this for a while.

"We’ve heard a lot of things tonight, four and a half hours of testimony, and to me, would be a disservice to those who testified to try to act on this at this point and allow every member of this board to be able to absorb this testimony, ask additional questions of our staff that we may think of over the next couple of days and come back for a decision in two weeks when our board meets again."