Vantage Data Centers to invest $2B on Stafford campus

Vantage Data Centers plans to invest $2 billion to build a data center campus in Stafford County, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday.

The investment is expected to create 1,100 construction jobs, as well as 50 permanent jobs after the campus reaches full capacity.

“Fredericksburg offered a significant opportunity for Vantage to serve our customers seeking capacity and access to the resources of Data Center Alley,” Dana Adams, president of Vantage Data Centers North America, said in a news release. “The region’s proximity to major metros, access to robust infrastructure and growing technology ecosystem make it an ideal location to meet skyrocketing demand.”

Located a little more than an hour from Vantage’s three existing data center campuses in Northern Virginia, the new campus has been dubbed VA4. It will house three two-story data centers totaling about 929,000 square feet on 82 acres.

VA4 will operate with a closed-loop chilled water system that minimizes the need for large amounts of water for cooling and will be built to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

The campus’ general contractor is California-based DPR Construction, which has an office in Richmond. The first building is scheduled to open in late 2027.

“Thanks to companies like Vantage, Virginia is leading the world into a future powered by the limitless possibilities of artificial intelligence,” Youngkin said in a news release. “With this $2 billion in investment, Vantage is paving the way for a stronger Stafford County and a stronger Virginia.”

VA4 will bring the company’s statewide capacity to 782 megawatts. Vantage’s total investment for all four Virginia campuses is about $8 billion.

Launching in 2010 with one data center in California, Vantage has expanded to more than 30 campuses across five continents.

“Virginia has been a cornerstone of Vantage’s North American growth since we first entered the market in 2017,” Adams stated.

Vantage is eligible for Data Center Sales and Use Tax exemptions on qualifying computer equipment and enabling software.