Charles City supervisors approve letter of intent to sell 87.5 acres for proposed C5 LLC data center

CHARLES CITY, Va. — The Charles City County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 24 approved a letter of intent to sell 87.5 acres on Roxbury Road to C5 LLC for a proposed data center, following a public hearing that included local supporters and residents raising concerns about water, power and public notice.

County staff presented the letter of intent, which lists a proposed purchase price of $1,000,000 for parcel 7-12B and shows the parcel’s assessed value at $235,600 and acreage as 87.5. The hearing, opened by the board for public comment, focused on the sale of county-owned land and the preliminary nature of the county’s action: supervisors stressed the vote covered only the letter of intent, not final project approvals or purchase contract terms.

Supporters at the podium said data centers can bring tax revenue and local jobs. Bill Coda, a resident, urged approval and pointed to other Virginia localities that have collected substantial revenue from data centers. Troy Burrows, who manages a data center at the University of Richmond, told the board Charles City has the utilities that attract such development.

Opponents and cautious speakers pushed for more analysis and clearer public notice. Lavisha Rollins, executive director of the nonprofit C 5, said the public had been confused by the similarity of the nonprofit’s name to C5 LLC and asked the county to stop using 'C5' in ways that could be interpreted as nonprofit endorsement. Tim Cywinski of the Sierra Club Virginia chapter warned of long interconnection timelines for grid connections and said data centers can require large quantities of water and diesel backup generation that may affect local resources and air quality. Martha Harris and other residents requested a feasibility study on economic, environmental and water impacts before the county takes further steps.

During a question-and-answer portion, the developer’s representative said modern data-center technologies can reduce water use with air-cooling and other methods but acknowledged some water will likely still be required and that all water and environmental approvals would be subject to state permitting (including DEQ review). County staff and counsel reiterated that the letter of intent is an early step; a purchase contract, due-diligence period and subsequent votes would be required before development could proceed.

Supervisor Teal moved to approve the letter of intent between Charles City County and C5 LLC for the purchase of 87.5 acres on Roxbury Road for the future data center at a price of $1,000,000. The motion passed with recorded 'Aye' votes from present supervisors. The record includes letters and emails both supporting and conditionally supporting the proposal, some of which ask that cooling use surface water rather than groundwater.

Next steps include negotiations on a purchase contract, any development-specific permits and environmental reviews; several speakers asked the board to pursue or require a feasibility study and clearer public outreach before the county commits to a final agreement.

The county clerk’s office has the full letter of intent and related documents on file at the County Administration Building for public inspection.