Valley communities prepare for data centers

As interest in data centers grows across Virginia, Shenandoah Valley communities are debating how to manage the industry’s potential impacts.

Hundreds of residents concerned about potential data center development in Frederick County peppered a panel of experts with questions during a May 7 public forum at James Wood High School.

Topics ranged from data centers’ water usage and electricity demands to the impacts of noise and air pollution from their backup generators. Applause erupted when one person said they shouldn’t be built near homes.

The forum was one of several steps county officials have taken to address pushback as they grapple with applications from mega data center developers eyeing expansion into the Shenandoah Valley.

Frederick has had one data center, the 43,400-square-foot Middletown Data Center, for over a decade and had allowed data center development by-right in some places. It now has applications for two larger projects: Winchester Gateway, a proposed 72-acre campus near Virginia Route 37, and Virginia Technology Park, which would sit on 220 acres near Interstate 81’s Exit 323. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended denying the latter’s rezoning application in June.

A county ordinance adopted in April 2025 removed by-right allowances for data centers and implemented noise studies, setback requirements and limits on generator testing. Proposed projects must now go through a public review process, says county Planning and Development Director Wyatt Pearson.

Other Shenandoah Valley localities are also seeing some interest from data center developers. Shenandoah Valley Partnership Executive Director Jay Langston notes that Strasburg, for example, is reviewing a proposed data center project from digital infrastructure developer Takanock on over
80 acres in its North Shenandoah Industrial & Business Park.

The partnership, a regional economic development and marketing organization for localities south of Frederick, withdrew a GO Virginia grant application to identify potential data center sites after consultants said most developer interest in the valleyhad not progressed beyond feasibility studies. Consultants also advised localities to adopt ordinances addressing issues like noise and water use before projects advance, Langston says.

Augusta County is drafting one that should be ready for a public hearing this summer, says County Administrator Timothy Fitzgerald. It will address setbacks, sound issues, water use and permitting requirements and set clear expectations about where data centers can go.

“The key here is to try to get out in front of any kind of major push,” he says.