650-acre data center campus coming to Caroline County

CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A 650-acre data center campus valued at approximately $8.8 billion is coming to Caroline County.

During its Aug. 12 regular meeting, the Caroline County Board of Supervisors entered into an agreement with the Virginia-based subsidiary of CleanArc Data Centers Operating LLC, a data center developer.

Under this agreement, CleanArc will develop three 490,000-square-foot data center buildings on the former site of the Virginia Bazaar, a large indoor/outdoor flea market that closed some years ago. The property, located at 18188 Bazaar Ave. in the Ruther Glen area, is situated just off of Interstate 95.

Once built, these data center buildings will be leased to data center users and/or operators, according to a statement shared by the county.

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Each building constitutes an approximately $2.93 billion capital investment in Caroline County, per the board. The total capital investment CleanArc is set to make with this campus is estimated to be $8.8 billion. Additionally, within this new campus, CleanArc plans to offer at least 50 new, full-time jobs "with an average annual wage of at least 150% of the County's average wage," officials said.

Caroline leaders provided incentives to CleanArc to encourage it to select the county for this development. Per the board, Caroline will make annual payments to CleanArc and its future tenants once these buildings are complete for a period of 15 years.

"These annual grant payments will be drawn from the increased real estate and personal property tax revenue generated at the project site as a result of the project and therefore will function as a tax rebate after these taxes are paid each year," the county said.

While the county did not state the exact dollar amount it will be paying CleanArc annually in these documents, officials did say that it will equal about 25% of the property's increased tax revenue.

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This data center campus, at its full scope, is expected to generate just under $9.15 million in personal property taxes and about $3.74 million in real estate taxes annually "after full disbursement of these annual grant payments."

However, CleanArc could make more money if it develops quickly.

"As a further incentive to commence construction and operation of the buildings as quickly as possible, if the first data hall within the first building is completed and operational by Sept. 30, 2027, the annual grant payment for the first building will be equal to 40$ of the increased tax revenue for an incentive term of 10 years," the county.

Caroline has previously reported that it is experiencing issues with water, as the water demand of its residents and businesses is projected to outpace the available water in the county. A previous study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) found that data centers, which use water for industrial cooling, have the potential to put strain on a locality's water supply.

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The county said that, under this agreement, CleanArc will not be allowed to use potable water for industrial cooling -- it will only be able to use county water for "routine purposes like washing and flushing."

"This prohibition helps ensure that the development of data centers on the project site will have no detrimental impact on the County's water supply," the county said.

To read the full statement provided by the county on this development, click here.