Denver firm Tract seeks to rezone 700-plus acres for data center park in Chesterfield

tract chesterfield property 2

Development firm Tract is seeking zoning approval for a data center park on more than 700 acres in Chesterfield. (Google Maps)

A Denver-based firm is eyeing hundreds of acres in southeast Chesterfield for a data center campus.

Development company Tract recently filed a rezoning application to allow the construction of potentially 11 data center facilities with a total of about 2 million square feet on more than 700 acres just outside Colonial Heights. The assemblage includes 16100 Branders Bridge Road and multiple other parcels.

A conceptual plan for the project depicts three “development area” sites on the property as well as four potential sites for substations. The project would feature buffers and other measures intended to lessen the development’s environmental impacts, and company spokeswoman Julia Kendall said most of the project site would be undeveloped.

“(The site) provides for thoughtful and effective buffers and setbacks to minimize site line impacts and ensure noise statutes are fully met. We are still working on the final site plan, but our experience tells us that less than 20% of the site will be developed as data center footprint, leaving significant green space intact,” she said in an email last week.

Tract is seeking to rezone the land to General Industrial (I-2) from the current Agricultural (A) designation. The company has proffered that the property’s permitted uses would be limited to data centers and related facilities, and that building heights would be limited to 110 feet.

The site would have no more than two vehicle entrances on Branders Bridge, and the project would involve road improvements like widening Branders Bridge along the site’s frontage.

The assemblage consists of about 740 acres and has an assessed value of $1.2 million, per online records. Tract has the property under contract. The land, which is located between Branders Bridge Road and Swift Creek, is owned by an LLC tied to Tony Lucas, who owns Chesterfield-based general contractor Shoosmith Construction.

tract chesterfield property plan

A conceptual plan of the proposed data center park. (County documents)

A portion of the Fall Line trail, a pedestrian-and-bike path that’s currently being established between Ashland and Petersburg, is proposed to cut through part of the property and then continue along Branders Bridge. Tract’s project would allow for that section of the trail as a proffered condition.

Tract’s business model is to acquire land and then handle the construction of infrastructure, like roads and utilities, needed for a data center park. The firm then looks to sell portions of the site to other companies that build the data center facilities.

Tract said it typically spends $50 million to $100 million to prepare a site for further development, but that the Chesterfield site’s needs were still being studied.

The proposal must go before the Chesterfield Planning Commission for review, followed by consideration of the Board of Supervisors for a final approval. Dates for those meetings have not yet been scheduled, Kendall said.

The zoning request was filed in November. A community meeting on the proposal was held last week. Jeff Geiger of Hirschler is representing Tract in its zoning request.

The Chesterfield project comes in the wake of Tract’s successful effort last year to rezone 1,200 acres in Hanover for a data center campus. The company acquired that project site in the spring for $32.7 million. Kendall said that permitting for the Hanover site is underway, and that infrastructure and internal access at the site is anticipated to finish in 2026 or 2027.

Tract’s Chesterfield data center campus would rise next to another large development that’s been years in the making. Chester Solar Technology Park is in the works on an adjacent 1,700-acre assemblage. The project by Colorado-based Torch Clean Energy and New York-based D. E. Shaw Renewable envisions a mixture of solar energy and data center facilities on the property and secured zoning approval in 2019.

tract chesterfield property 2

Development firm Tract is seeking zoning approval for a data center park on more than 700 acres in Chesterfield. (Google Maps)

A Denver-based firm is eyeing hundreds of acres in southeast Chesterfield for a data center campus.

Development company Tract recently filed a rezoning application to allow the construction of potentially 11 data center facilities with a total of about 2 million square feet on more than 700 acres just outside Colonial Heights. The assemblage includes 16100 Branders Bridge Road and multiple other parcels.

A conceptual plan for the project depicts three “development area” sites on the property as well as four potential sites for substations. The project would feature buffers and other measures intended to lessen the development’s environmental impacts, and company spokeswoman Julia Kendall said most of the project site would be undeveloped.

“(The site) provides for thoughtful and effective buffers and setbacks to minimize site line impacts and ensure noise statutes are fully met. We are still working on the final site plan, but our experience tells us that less than 20% of the site will be developed as data center footprint, leaving significant green space intact,” she said in an email last week.

Tract is seeking to rezone the land to General Industrial (I-2) from the current Agricultural (A) designation. The company has proffered that the property’s permitted uses would be limited to data centers and related facilities, and that building heights would be limited to 110 feet.

The site would have no more than two vehicle entrances on Branders Bridge, and the project would involve road improvements like widening Branders Bridge along the site’s frontage.

The assemblage consists of about 740 acres and has an assessed value of $1.2 million, per online records. Tract has the property under contract. The land, which is located between Branders Bridge Road and Swift Creek, is owned by an LLC tied to Tony Lucas, who owns Chesterfield-based general contractor Shoosmith Construction.

tract chesterfield property plan

A conceptual plan of the proposed data center park. (County documents)

A portion of the Fall Line trail, a pedestrian-and-bike path that’s currently being established between Ashland and Petersburg, is proposed to cut through part of the property and then continue along Branders Bridge. Tract’s project would allow for that section of the trail as a proffered condition.

Tract’s business model is to acquire land and then handle the construction of infrastructure, like roads and utilities, needed for a data center park. The firm then looks to sell portions of the site to other companies that build the data center facilities.

Tract said it typically spends $50 million to $100 million to prepare a site for further development, but that the Chesterfield site’s needs were still being studied.

The proposal must go before the Chesterfield Planning Commission for review, followed by consideration of the Board of Supervisors for a final approval. Dates for those meetings have not yet been scheduled, Kendall said.

The zoning request was filed in November. A community meeting on the proposal was held last week. Jeff Geiger of Hirschler is representing Tract in its zoning request.

The Chesterfield project comes in the wake of Tract’s successful effort last year to rezone 1,200 acres in Hanover for a data center campus. The company acquired that project site in the spring for $32.7 million. Kendall said that permitting for the Hanover site is underway, and that infrastructure and internal access at the site is anticipated to finish in 2026 or 2027.

Tract’s Chesterfield data center campus would rise next to another large development that’s been years in the making. Chester Solar Technology Park is in the works on an adjacent 1,700-acre assemblage. The project by Colorado-based Torch Clean Energy and New York-based D. E. Shaw Renewable envisions a mixture of solar energy and data center facilities on the property and secured zoning approval in 2019.

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George Macguffin
George Macguffin
7 days ago

Taking over the green-space. Vaccuming up the electricity. Only for AI to take your jobs. The repercssions of these “data-centers” will be far reaching. Where is the county getting the energy to feed all them? More coal-fired plants? A fusion facility that will never come? One must hope that the conspiratorial quantum vaccum zero-point energy system is closer to reality than fringe theoretics where it currently resides.

Bert Hapablap
Bert Hapablap
7 days ago

I’m not well educated about these data centers but is it really necessary to have them in areas like this? You’d think building large warehouse structures would be better served being located in already zoned industrial areas. The local residents aren’t using the physical locations and they don’t employee that many people.

Bruce Milam
Bruce Milam
7 days ago

How are these data center developments working out in Loudoun County? There’s been a lot of pushback lately, hasn’t there? Is this significant economic development or does it increase the costs of energy and affordable housing? I know the current Governor and President are pushing hard for data center and AI development. Are our tax dollars supporting this?

David Humphrey
David Humphrey
7 days ago
Reply to  Bruce Milam

Just because something has not worked out doesn’t mean we can’t learn from that and do it better. It is up to the state and SCC to figure out the power. If they don’t have the power don’t build. But as for the siting of them a lot can be learned from Loudoun. They let them build almost up to the property line. 100′ buildings are right on roadways and towering over residential development. Those issue are easily solved with greater setbacks and better site design. The taxes from them can be transformative. Look at the housing trust fund Henrico… Read more »

Brian Glass
Brian Glass
7 days ago

George: Coal fired plants are no longer an option, however the Commonwealth has to determine how the electricity will be generated, and at what expense to consumers. Data centers are, however, terrific taxpayers, and they don’t present a traffic problem, create road damage, or pollution that distribution centers create.

Henrico County figured that out a decade ago at White Oak and is a leader in the MSA regarding Data Centers. In fact, Henrico is earmarking tax dollars from the White Oak data centers to create workforce housing.

Frank Wood
Frank Wood
6 days ago
Reply to  Brian Glass

You’re certainly correct regarding Coal.
I believe the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) which Dominion Energy reports to has had meetings and projections on how Data Centers will be powered (they are notorious energy hogs). Ideally each center would be self-sufficient with its own means of generating electricity. It would be nice if SCC and Dominion were to lay out their plans regarding Data Centers and the ever-increasing utility cost and usage.

Carl Schwendeman
Carl Schwendeman
7 days ago

I really hope Chesterfield County uses all these data centers to put funds towers their car over populated roads. At least they are not putting all the data centers in one place like in Northern Virginia so it would at least be better on the grid to have them spread out.

Zach Rugar
Zach Rugar
7 days ago

What a waste of perfectly good land. They couldn’t build a few skyscrapers closer in to serve the same purpose?

Garry Whelan
Garry Whelan
6 days ago

If anyone wants to understand the issues of data centers, energy and specifically how they are playing out in Virginia, I’d recommend reading what Ivy Main writes. She hits all the relevant points and joins up the legislative issues:

https://virginiamercury.com/author/ivy-main/