Amazon has scrapped a plan to build data centers on the site of George Washington University’s campus in Northern Virginia after reaching an agreement with local officials amid widespread opposition to the project from residents.
The sprawling property in Loudoun County, roughly 25 miles outside D.C., was purchased by Amazon Web Services in February for $427 million, a move that “blindsided” county leaders already wary of the number of data centers in the area.
In an agreement announced Tuesday by Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall, Amazon will repurpose the majority of the 122-acre campus for mixed-use and residential development, and commit to not build data centers on the land. The company will also donate 25 acres of the property to the county for a community arts center and recreational facility, as well as $5 million to the county’s housing fund.
“By choosing dialogue over reflexive disagreement, Loudoun County and Amazon created an opportunity for the County,” Randall said in a statement. “This agreement provides new places for our Loudoun residents to gather, create, and play. And, most importantly to me, we will provide more attainable homes for working families.”
In a statement, Josh Weissman, Amazon’s vice president responsible for data center development, said the company had seized the opportunity to purchase the campus when approached by the university but took seriously the county’s “pointed concerns about data center development at this particular site.”
“While we see the property’s legal development potential differently than the County does, we concluded that the best outcome for all is to come together on a shared vision for this campus rather than engage in costly litigation,” Weissman said. (Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
After Amazon submitted a proposal to build four data centers on the property in July, county supervisors expressed concern over the prospect of more centers in the county and said the project would require their approval. According to the county statement, Randall and other Loudoun officials met with Amazon in September to negotiate a different use for the land.
Under the deal, the county will fast-track rezoning of the property to allow for development. George Washington University can remain a tenant on the site, known as the Virginia Science and Technology Campus, for up to five years.
Shannon McClendon, a university spokesperson, said in a statement that Amazon Web Services’ agreement with Loudoun County does “not affect the university or impact the transaction. GW has no role in the property’s future development.”
Loudoun County, an affluent exurb of D.C., is home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world, earning it the moniker “Data Center Alley.” But support for the facilities has soured in recent years as residents have raised concerns over their noise and the massive power demands.
Loudoun Supervisor Juli E. Briskman (D), whose district includes the property, celebrated Amazon’s withdrawal of its data center proposal.
“From the beginning, I have maintained that the GW campus is not an appropriate place for data centers,” Briskman said in a statement. “The advocacy and public pressure from our community made all the difference.”
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