May 25, 2023 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
The Virginian county of Culpeper may soon see the construction of more than four million square feet of data centers. The Culpeper Town and County Councils have received rezoning requests that would enable the construction of approximately 17 buildings on two campuses on the town's border alongside McDevitt Drive.
The Culpeper County Planning Commission voted 7-1 last week to grant an application to rezone roughly 34.4 acres from RA (Rural Area) to LI (Light Industrial) over Route 799 (McDevitt Drive) with Route 699 (East Chandler Street) in Stevensburg Magisterial area, as initially reported by the Culpeper Star-Exponent.
The request was made by TPC Culpeper LC and TPC Freedom I LC, and according to the Star-Exponent, Peterson Companies is developing the site, which is part of the McDevitt Drive Technology Zone in Fairfax County. The location is on the border between Culpeper Town and the rest of the county. All adjacent parcels of land are already designated LI. In addition to two on-site substations, the company may construct up to nine buildings comprising 2.1 million square feet.
Adam Cook, the company's development director, informed the commission that the company was in talks with three potential tenants for the campus. Cook stated they anticipate submitting the site plan in August and receiving approval by year's end. Katie Reames, however, voted against the application and made a motion to reject the rezoning application, which was not seconded. She stated that the data centers would necessitate additional large-scale solar projects to be powered and that these industrial initiatives rape their agricultural land.
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