Planners preview 2.2-million-square-foot Remington data center campus; substations, water and emissions draw questions

Fauquier County planning staff on Thursday gave commissioners a detailed preview of a proposed data center campus in Remington that would include seven two-story data buildings totaling about 2.2 million square feet, multiple electrical substations, a 500,000-gallon water tower and an onsite water treatment facility.

The project site is roughly 202 acres on Lucky Hill Road; about 156 acres lie inside the Remington Service District and about 46 acres lie outside. Staff said the developer proposes to rezone the entire site from R‑1 to Business Park with proffers, to amend the comprehensive plan to change the land-use designation for approximately 156 acres from low-density residential to “light industrial employment center,” and to request special exceptions to allow above-ground water storage and treatment and certain substations where those utilities sit outside the Service District.

Proposed development details presented by staff include seven data-center buildings (individual building sizes in the submitted materials ranged from roughly 220,000 square feet to nearly 480,000 square feet), maximum building elevations of 65 feet plus a 15-foot parapet/screen wall for an…