Data Center Developer Black Chamber Targets Virginia Church Near Planned AWS Campus
June 29, 2026
Data Center Developer Black Chamber Targets Virginia Church Near Planned AWS Campus
A historic church in Manassas, Virginia, is weighing a sale to a data center developer as demand for land in Northern Virginia’s booming data center market continues to intensify. The Manassas Church of the Brethren, founded in 1895, has received an acquisition offer from Black Chamber Partners, a private equity-backed developer known for building powered shells for hyperscale cloud providers.
The church sits on a seven-acre site at 10047 Nokesville Road, which is zoned for industrial use. The property is strategically located across the street from a Micron facility and near a planned Amazon Web Services (AWS) campus. Amazon already owns multiple parcels in the area and is collaborating with Black Chamber on nearby development projects.
Black Chamber has been actively acquiring land in the vicinity. According to local property records, the developer has purchased a total of 12 acres between the church and Dean Drive for approximately $38.8 million, equating to roughly $3 million per acre. The acquisitions were made through an entity called Nova Pineapple Farms LLC.
Reverend Mandy North, the church’s minister, told the Manassas City Council during a June 8 meeting that the congregation’s initial reaction was to decline the offer. “Our initial gut was to decline the offer,” Rev. North said. “We aren’t for sale. We’ve been in ministry for 130 years. We still have 130 years of ministry here.” However, she acknowledged that if the sale proceeds, the church would seek to relocate to a five-acre site nearby, on land owned by the City of Manassas at the Landing at Cannon Branch. It remains unclear whether the city would sell the land to the church, as officials are reportedly seeking a more commercial user and other parties have expressed interest in the site.
The potential transaction underscores the intense competition for developable land in Northern Virginia, the world’s largest data center market. Black Chamber Partners, founded in 2019, focuses exclusively on developing build-to-suit powered shells for hyperscalers like Amazon and is known to be active across Loudoun and Prince William counties. The value of the proposal for the church property has not been disclosed. Black Chamber did not respond to requests for comment from local media.
If the sale goes through, it would mark another instance of data center expansion reshaping land use in the region, where industrial zoning and proximity to power infrastructure make parcels highly attractive to developers. The church’s decision could set a precedent for other religious or community institutions located in similarly zoned areas.
Source: datacenterdynamics
