Data centers, manufacturing drive growth in Central Virginia

While 2025 delivered fewer high-dollar investments for the commonwealth than in years past, according to Virginia Economic Development Partnership data, localities across Central Virginia spent much of the year making their past development deals a reality.

The 101 growth announcements from basic industry companies that primarily operate outside the commonwealth represent a sharp drop from the 150 logged by VEDP in 2024 and in years past. Central Virginia, though, saw 22 announcements in 2025, up from 17 in 2024. And while Chesterfield, Goochland and Henrico counties implemented new rules governing data center growth, Google continued to invest heavily in the region, as did EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure — announcing a planned $17 billion data center campus in Louisa County in June 2025 — and CleanArc Data Centers, which announced in November 2025 plans for a $3 billion data center campus in Caroline County.

In spite of national uncertainty over tariffs, inflation and interest rates, “the Richmond region is really hot,” said Anthony Romanello, the former executive director of the Henrico Economic Development Authority who left the role at the end of 2025. “You’ve got billions and billions of dollars in industrial construction underway all across the region, industrial data centers, pharmaceuticals. … To use the cliche, the Richmond region is beginning to punch above its weight. I think it’s going to be really cool to see where we are in another 10 years.”

Richmond

The city made two major announcements in the last calendar year. One, a $54 million investment by British pharmaceutical company Haleon, will modernize a longstanding research and development facility that was last upgraded with a 2019 investment, before Haleon’s demerger from GlaxoSmithKline in 2022. The other announcement, a new headquarters for Nightingale Ice Cream, was withdrawn just months later.

Director of Economic Development Angie Rodgers admits that while the slower year “does color how I think we need to move in the future,” she remains positive about Richmond’s potential. Regardless, Richmond is buzzing with activity, and several major projects approach completion, such as the minimum $117 million CarMax Park, the Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball stadium set to open in April that forms the centerpiece of the city’s 67-acre Diamond District redevelopment, and CoStar’s $460 million downtown campus opening this spring.

Chesterfield County

Two Big Tech companies renewed their commitments to Chesterfield County in 2025: Amazon.com and Google.
“We hit the jackpot” with Google, says Garrett Hart, director of Chesterfield Economic Development, which estimates that Google is investing $3 billion on data centers in the county. Work is underway at a 300-plus-acre Bermuda Hundred Road site near Meadowville Technology Park, and Google has also purchased properties at two of the county’s booming mixed-use developments: 880 acres at Upper Magnolia Green and 350 acres at Watkins Centre South. Near Google’s data center, Amazon is building a $51 million distribution center slated to bring 500 jobs.

Longtime county residents also announced big plans, such as Georgia-based Dover Food Retail, which is planning a
$25 million expansion of its manufacturing campus in South Chesterfield that will generate over 300 jobs.

“We take a lot of pride in the fact that we have some existing companies that have been here 40, 50 years that are expanding and continue to double down here. They continue to add jobs and capital investment,” Hart says.

In addition to its 2025 announcements, many recent projects are nearing completion, such as the 42-acre Springline at District 60 mixed-use development near the Chippenham Parkway and Midlothian Turnpike intersection and the $2 billion Chirisa Technology Parks data center campus, dubbed Digital Drive, a 104-acre site on track to start producing power for data centers in the next few years.

“We’ve had such a strong five or six years now,” says Chesterfield EDA Deputy Director Matt McLaren. “This year really feels like the year where we’re building a lot of the things that we’ve announced, and some of them are starting to come online. So it’s really about getting over the finish line.”

Henrico County

For Romanello, the past year showed that “diversity of our economy remains paramount,” and much of the county’s activity in 2025 bears this out.

While the last fiscal year saw investments totaling over $8 billion, the calendar year closed out with three announcements: a $15 million headquarters expansion of locally based Red River Foods, a $28 million investment by the Swiss power production company ABB to expand its manufacturing and a $50 million expansion of Irish power system manufacturer Eaton’s county footprint.

Many existing sites are also undergoing metamorphoses, such as the $450 million Kinsale Center redevelopment project at the former Anthem campus on Staples Mill Road and the mixed-use Midtown64 project to be built where the Genworth Financial headquarters once stood at West Broad Street and Interstate 64. Each project is estimated to cost over $500 million. Phase one of the Kinsale project ended in November, and construction on Midtown64 started in December.

The county also regained control of the former Best Products headquarters site at the intersection of Interstate 95 and Parham Road after plans for the $2.3 billion arena-anchored GreenCity development fell through.

Albemarle County

The pharmaceutical industry made another huge move near Charlottesville, with AstraZeneca investing $4.5 billion to build a manufacturing facility on 82 acres at Albemarle County’s Rivanna Futures site. The construction of two buildings, one opening in 2028 and the other in 2029, is a transformational project, says Albemarle Director of Economic Development Emily Kilroy, and is expected to create 600 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs.

Petersburg

In Petersburg, Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach developer Bruce Smith Enterprise broke ground in March 2025 on the $1.4 billion Live! Casino & Hotel Virginia, expected to create 1,400 jobs and to open in 2027. Meanwhile, a temporary casino opened Jan. 22 on the 100-acre site off I-95 at Exit 48B.

Goochland County

Blockbuster deals in 2025 pushed Goochland County to over $430 million of active investment, its highest amount ever, according to Sara Worley, deputy county administrator for economic and community development.

The first major splash came in May 2025 as “Project Rocky” was revealed to be a 3.1 million-square-foot Amazon robotics fulfillment center. Not only is the project estimated to create over 1,000 jobs, it will also modernize the infrastructure around Interstate 64 and Ashland Road. In September 2025, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. announced a $5 billion manufacturing plant that will join Capital One Financial, CarMax and other major employers in the West Creek Business Park. (See Page 18.)
“These companies, I think, had the foresight to see that the [Richmond region and Goochland County are] up and coming and that we have the workforce to support them now and then into the future,” Worley says.