Data center plans just outside Alexandria city limits has raised concerns among residents and officials.
Starwood Capital Group filed the permit application and building plans to Fairfax County for the 34-acre Plaza 500 site at 6299 Edsall Road in Lincolnia. The application is for Plaza 500 South, the first of two data center buildings it is seeking.
House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-4), who represents areas of the West End near the proposal, said in her newsletter that constituents have reached out to her office about the proposal. The delegate says data center development on the Plaza 500 site is by right based on permitted zoning.
However, the data center campus needs an electrical substation to power it. A substation on Edsall Road received approval from the State Corporation Commission but still faces a public facilities 2232 review by the Fairfax County Planning Commission at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24.
“Concurrently, site plans for the data center itself and the project’s buildings must be submitted in an application for building permit approval to Fairfax County Land Development Services through the LDS PLUS system,” Herring shared in her newsletter. “These plans are then reviewed by a variety of agencies or under the purview of specific ordinances such as zoning, site or fire marshal review.”
Residents of the Bren Mar and Bren Pointe communities in Lincolnia are planning to protest the proposed substation before the Planning Commission’s review. Bren Pointe Homeowners Association president Tyler Ray expressed concerns to the Washington Business Journal about Starwood Capital Group submitting the data center application before the substation is approved.
Mo Seifeldein, a former Alexandria City Council member and federal attorney who is now running for Congress, raised concerns with two new data centers less than 100 feet from homes in the Bren Mar neighborhood and minutes from Alexandria’s West End. He called on Alexandria City Council to evaluate legal options to protect nearby residents.
“This project may be in Fairfax County, but its impacts don’t stop at the county lines,” Seifeldein said. “Alexandria has a responsibility to defend its residents. A letter of opposition isn’t enough when legal action is available.”
Mayor Alyia Gaskins told ALXnow she shares concerns from Alexandrians about the data center near the city.
“It’s why I have been working with residents to communicate our concerns to Fairfax County leaders,” Gaskins said. “While we do not have authority over another jurisdiction’s land use decisions, I think it’s essential that they understand our concerns about health, safety, climate and quality of life for Alexandrians who live so close.”
The city government has not officially taken a position but is monitoring the proposal.
“The City of Alexandria is aware of the application and is coordinating with Fairfax County staff to better understand the proposal and any potential impacts on Alexandria residents,” city spokesperson Ebony Fleming told ALXnow.
Virginia is home to the most data centers in the U.S., with Ashburn’s “Data Center Alley” hosting the world’s largest concentration of data centers. While there are currently no data centers in Alexandria, the closest one is the Amazon Web Services data center campus under development in the Springfield area near Interstate 95.
Starwood Capital Group is also behind plans for data centers at a former Washington Commanders training facility in Herndon, according to the Business Journal. Residents near the Plaza 500 site unsuccessfully tried to get Fairfax County to switch the Plaza 500 site with a county-owned Chantilly site slated to be sold for data center development.
Before the Sept. 24 Planning Commission meeting, Fairfax County’s Mason District Land Use Advisory Committee will be briefed by Dominion Energy about the proposed Edsall Road substation at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (July 28). It will decide whether to recommend the substation to the Planning Commission at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 22.
The Planning Commission public hearing will be held in the Board Auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax) and also be available through Fairfax County Government’s Cable TV Channel 16 and online.
Image via Scott Rodgerson/Unsplash
