Proposed Data Center Campus in Loudoun County Faces Local Opposition
April 15, 2026
A significant new data center development is being proposed in Northern Virginia, the world's largest data center market, highlighting the ongoing tension between the industry's relentless expansion and local community planning priorities. The proposal underscores the critical challenge of balancing infrastructure essential for the digital economy with residential and environmental concerns in increasingly saturated regions.
According to initial reports, the Farkas family has initiated the approval process for a two-building data center campus on approximately 87 acres of undeveloped land along Gulick Mill Road, south of Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia. The site, located near the Academies of Loudoun school and west of the major data center hub of Ashburn, was filed for consideration via the law firm Curata Partners. The application seeks to rezone the property from transitional residential to industrial park and requires a special exception to construct the two data center buildings and an on-site electrical substation. While comprehensive specifications for the planned facilities have not been disclosed, a prior sales brochure from CBRE described the Holyfield Farm property as "ideally suited" for data center use.
The project, however, is already encountering resistance from local officials. Loudoun County supervisor Laura TeKrony has publicly stated her opposition, indicating she would not support the proposals. "I was not going to support the proposals and would prefer to see low-density residential use and parks in that area," TeKrony said, reflecting a growing sentiment in some communities wary of further industrial development.
The outcome of this proposal will be closely watched as a bellwether for the future of data center development in Northern Virginia. It exemplifies the escalating "capacity battle" where state-level economic interests in attracting digital infrastructure increasingly clash with local-level pushback over land use, community character, and strain on public utilities. Decisions here could influence zoning policies and community engagement strategies for future projects across the country.
Source: datacenterdynamics
