Colorado-based company Tract in early September filed a rezoning application for 1,200 acres to establish a data center park just north of Ashland and east of Interstate 95. (Courtesy of Hanover County)
Note: This story has been updated to include higher potential building numbers and employee counts that were the basis for a traffic analysis included with the developer’s zoning application.
A large tract just outside Ashland is being positioned for development that someday could house millions of square feet of data center facilities across dozens of buildings.
Denver-based company Tract filed a zoning request last week to create a shovel-ready development site for a future data center park on about 1,200 acres along Hickory Hill Road east of Interstate 95 in Hanover County.
If the zoning request is approved by county supervisors, Tract plans to spend more than $50 million to create the infrastructure needed for data centers to be built on the site, Tract Chief Investment Officer Graham Williams said.
Once the groundwork is in place, Tract would then sell off portions of the overall property, which Tract has under contract, to other companies that would build their own data facilities in the park.
Graham Williams
“We’re getting these sites shovel-ready. We’re working with the county to set the rules in advance to make sure the county is comfortable with it. We have setbacks and noise restrictions we know are important to put in place from the outset,” Williams said. “The goal is to have multiple data center campuses on that site, likely built by other people.”
Williams said he anticipated that the site would be able to support 9 million square feet of data center space spread across about 30 buildings located in a few campuses throughout the property. He said that level of development, which would be concentrated on about 10 percent of the acreage, would create 300 to 400 jobs.
That being said, a traffic analysis submitted with the request is based on the assumption of a park with up to 46 buildings and around 860 employees. Williams said the final development of the park would be dependent on what firms decide to establish facilities there.
“The ultimate site plan will depend on the standard designs of the ultimate end users and those vary by size and shape. We ran out traffic and infrastructure analysis on a ‘max’ plan to make sure that we were conservative on our impact assessments with the county and state,” Williams said.
Tract and the current landowners are seeking to rezone the land to limited industrial district (M-1) from its current designation as agricultural (A-1).
Williams said the site is desirable because some electrical power infrastructure already exists there, and the proposal jells with Hanover’s comprehensive plan, which has designated the area as an appropriate place for employment-generating business and limited industrial use.
The proposal is anticipated to go before the Hanover Planning Commission in November. Commissioners will weigh whether to recommend approval of the project to the Board of Supervisors, which would have final say and is expected to consider the case in December.
A community meeting regarding the project is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Hanover Tavern at 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road.
In addition to seeking a rezoning, Tract wants a conditional-use permit for a public wastewater lift station and solar energy facilities.
Also sought is a special exception to allow increased building height, which would allow for four buildings to be up to 140 feet tall. The rest of the buildings in the park would be no taller than 110 feet, according to Hanover Planning Director Jo Ann Hunter.
A proffered condition of the project is that it would only be home to data processing facilities and permitted accessory uses.
Tract is under contract to buy the acreage, which is split across four parcels. The purchase is subject to zoning approval. Williams declined to share how much Tract is planning to spend to acquire the assemblage, but said land acquisition wasn’t included in the $50 million anticipated to be spent to build the water, sewer, power and fiber infrastructure slated for the site.
Two parcels in the assemblage are owned by an LLC tied to Hill Carter. The remaining two parcels are owned by Blenheim Associates.
The assemblage is worth $6.2 million, according to online county land records.
Jeff Geiger of law firm Hirschler is representing the applicants in the zoning case.
Tract was launched last year by Alexandria-based Columbia Capital and former executives of data centers company Cologix, according to a report by trade publication Data Center Dynamics. Tract’s CEO is Grant van Rooyen, who founded Cologix in 2010 and is also president of the van Rooyen Group.
Williams said the Hanover project is one of two that Tract has in the works in the Richmond metro area. He declined to comment on what else the company has in the pipeline locally.
Colorado-based company Tract in early September filed a rezoning application for 1,200 acres to establish a data center park just north of Ashland and east of Interstate 95. (Courtesy of Hanover County)
Note: This story has been updated to include higher potential building numbers and employee counts that were the basis for a traffic analysis included with the developer’s zoning application.
A large tract just outside Ashland is being positioned for development that someday could house millions of square feet of data center facilities across dozens of buildings.
Denver-based company Tract filed a zoning request last week to create a shovel-ready development site for a future data center park on about 1,200 acres along Hickory Hill Road east of Interstate 95 in Hanover County.
If the zoning request is approved by county supervisors, Tract plans to spend more than $50 million to create the infrastructure needed for data centers to be built on the site, Tract Chief Investment Officer Graham Williams said.
Once the groundwork is in place, Tract would then sell off portions of the overall property, which Tract has under contract, to other companies that would build their own data facilities in the park.
Graham Williams
“We’re getting these sites shovel-ready. We’re working with the county to set the rules in advance to make sure the county is comfortable with it. We have setbacks and noise restrictions we know are important to put in place from the outset,” Williams said. “The goal is to have multiple data center campuses on that site, likely built by other people.”
Williams said he anticipated that the site would be able to support 9 million square feet of data center space spread across about 30 buildings located in a few campuses throughout the property. He said that level of development, which would be concentrated on about 10 percent of the acreage, would create 300 to 400 jobs.
That being said, a traffic analysis submitted with the request is based on the assumption of a park with up to 46 buildings and around 860 employees. Williams said the final development of the park would be dependent on what firms decide to establish facilities there.
“The ultimate site plan will depend on the standard designs of the ultimate end users and those vary by size and shape. We ran out traffic and infrastructure analysis on a ‘max’ plan to make sure that we were conservative on our impact assessments with the county and state,” Williams said.
Tract and the current landowners are seeking to rezone the land to limited industrial district (M-1) from its current designation as agricultural (A-1).
Williams said the site is desirable because some electrical power infrastructure already exists there, and the proposal jells with Hanover’s comprehensive plan, which has designated the area as an appropriate place for employment-generating business and limited industrial use.
The proposal is anticipated to go before the Hanover Planning Commission in November. Commissioners will weigh whether to recommend approval of the project to the Board of Supervisors, which would have final say and is expected to consider the case in December.
A community meeting regarding the project is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Hanover Tavern at 13181 Hanover Courthouse Road.
In addition to seeking a rezoning, Tract wants a conditional-use permit for a public wastewater lift station and solar energy facilities.
Also sought is a special exception to allow increased building height, which would allow for four buildings to be up to 140 feet tall. The rest of the buildings in the park would be no taller than 110 feet, according to Hanover Planning Director Jo Ann Hunter.
A proffered condition of the project is that it would only be home to data processing facilities and permitted accessory uses.
Tract is under contract to buy the acreage, which is split across four parcels. The purchase is subject to zoning approval. Williams declined to share how much Tract is planning to spend to acquire the assemblage, but said land acquisition wasn’t included in the $50 million anticipated to be spent to build the water, sewer, power and fiber infrastructure slated for the site.
Two parcels in the assemblage are owned by an LLC tied to Hill Carter. The remaining two parcels are owned by Blenheim Associates.
The assemblage is worth $6.2 million, according to online county land records.
Jeff Geiger of law firm Hirschler is representing the applicants in the zoning case.
Tract was launched last year by Alexandria-based Columbia Capital and former executives of data centers company Cologix, according to a report by trade publication Data Center Dynamics. Tract’s CEO is Grant van Rooyen, who founded Cologix in 2010 and is also president of the van Rooyen Group.
Williams said the Hanover project is one of two that Tract has in the works in the Richmond metro area. He declined to comment on what else the company has in the pipeline locally.
Interesting site choice between the newer (pricey) subdivisions to the south and west of these parcels to its adjacency to the historic Hickory Hill Plantation (one of the largest in Hanover) with 200 plus slaves, historic slave African American enslaved cemetery (149 found grave sites) just off their eastern property line (I think the walking trail to the slave grounds is just over their property line) and the fight with Wegmans, you would think they would have more thought into their eastern property line and buffers/protections. No one is 100% certain where the slave homes and cemetery boundaries are but… Read more »
“He said that level of development, which would be concentrated on about 10 percent of the acreage”
Yes, everywhere seems to have their “sacred sites” yet counties LOVE datacenters!!!!
Think about it — they are pretty low impact — it doesn’t take many employees to drive to and fro, but there is SO much equipment for them to TAX!!! It’s the Holy Grail of suburban development.
I guess they could even put a solar farm on the roof!
Michael: There was a cemetery issue at the White Oak data center site in Henrico and it was resolved. Water availability could be a bigger issue.
Aware but after delays and legal battles in Hanover at Wegmans site; the article mentions an upcoming public meeting and I was surprised they didn’t say something “in respect for the history of the adjoining cemetery and plantation the viewshed will be protected and a 100 ft buffer of the mature trees that will be retained on our eastern property line” or something to that effect. You know address the issue early on so you don’t spend time and money later.