This county is hitting the brakes on data center development after more than a quarter of a century of making the most out of them.
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It all started when a federal government demand led to the installation of fiber internet lines in the area, owing to its proximity to Washington, D.C. This grew even more during the dot-com craze of the late ‘90s, when many companies built a ton of fiber connections in the region. This made it ideal for building early data centers in the area, with AOL moving its headquarters in the region in 1996. By the year 2000, the county voted to categorize data centers as office parks, meaning companies can build these structures with little oversight and approvals.
This incentivized tech giants to build data centers in the area; by 2007, there were already 29 such facilities in Loudoun, with the number growing almost ten-fold nearly 20 years later. Interestingly, it seemed that the negative impacts of these projects in the area were little to none. In fact, the people of Loudoun appreciated them, as they brought in a lot of money for the county. Data centers brought in a $150 million income in 2015, but this number has grown to $1.1 billion in 2025. This cash windfall allowed Loudoun to cut property taxes to just $0.805 per $100 of assessed value — that’s less than 0.8%, making it among the lowest in the United States, especially for a suburban area.
Aside from that, the tax windfall from data centers allowed the county to fund more schools, with two new ones opened in the area, plus another one under construction, build a $102 million recreation center that has multiple pools and hydro massage chairs, plus spend $22 million converting a former presidential estate into a public park. This also allowed the county to expand its fire and emergency services, and ensure that its roads, bridges, and tolls are in excellent shape. Because of this, many residents support data centers in the region; in a July town hall meeting discussing it, some people attended wearing shirts that said: “I Support Data Centers Because I Like: Lower Taxes, Excellent Schools, Better Job Opportunities, and More.”
This is a stark contrast to what the rest of the country is seeing when it comes to data centers. New developments have raised various issues nationwide, from electricity price hikes up to 76% in the biggest power region of the U.S. and excessive water consumption that caused low water pressures for neighboring communities to 24/7 noise pollution that basically made the area unlivable and allegations of air pollution brought about by unpermitted gas turbines needed to power the data center. It’s for these reasons that many people are protesting the development of these projects in their communities, and several counties and states have passed data center moratoriums .
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/virginia-county-with-250-data-centers-begins-to-rein-in-building-loudouns-more-than-250-data-centers-made-it-one-of-the-richest-counties-in-the-us-but-residents-are-pushing-back#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.