Virginia: Loudoun County Planning Commission rejects proposed data center

The Loudoun County Planning Commission has rejected a data center proposed along Route 28 and the Old Ox Road interchange, close to Dulles International Airport in Virginia. This proposed project called "Innovation Gateway" project was for a 425-unit apartment building and 700,000 sq ft (65,030 sqm) of data center space on the 29-acre plot.

Planning staff recommended denying the application as it said the development was "incompatible" with the nearby "Urban Transit Center" designation, which is 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.

“I am just not comfortable with a data center here,” Supervisor Sylvia Glass said at the time. “I’m just too concerned it will be detrimental to the developments near Metro.” Unfortunately for BlackChamber, it seems the same concerns have stymied this latest proposal.