Prince William County residents fighting residential data center project

We’ve written recently about how Augusta County leaders want to tighten up local zoning laws to get a handle on energy-hogging, environment-clogging hyperscale data centers that may be coming to our local area in the near future.

The near future is now in Prince William County, where residents of a 55-plus retirement community are fighting with a McLean-based developer and with county leaders over the proposed construction of five data centers within earshot of their homes.

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ICYMI

• Augusta County leaders look to address zoning loopholes on data centers

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A presentation made in April by the developer, Cedrus Group, lays out that the data centers would be located “at least” 300 feet from the property line of Four Seasons in Historic Virginia, a retirement community of more than 800 homes in Prince William County.

The proposed Lexora Park development, to be built between Interstate 95 and the eastern boundary of Four Seasons, would include data centers the size of multiple football fields and standing at least 75 feet tall.

The facilities would house diesel generators, industrial cooling systems and other heavy equipment that will emit a constant mechanical hum.

Prince William County currently hosts more data center square footage than any county in the U.S., with approximately 8.3 million square feet already built, and 86.9 million more square feet planned.

Residents who have been leading the effort to oppose the project are also raising issue with the Four Seasons HOA Board of Directors, based on rumors that the board struck an informal agreement with the developer promising to endorse Lexora Park in exchange for mitigation commitments and financial incentives.

The HOA board voted last week to endorse the Lexora Park, which the residents who oppose the proposal feel will give the developer leverage to obtain rezoning approval from Prince William County Board of Supervisors.

“This isn’t just about noise,” said Michael Slayter, a concerned Four Seasons resident. “It’s about property values, health, environmental concerns, water consumption, electrical infrastructure, and the very fabric of this community.”