Virginia county expects $1.3B haul in tax revenue from its 250 data centers— and has become a model for the nation

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A lavish Virginia county that’s home to hundreds of data centers is raking in more than a billion-dollar windfall off the server farms — and residents are reaping the tech boom benefits with 30% reductions property taxes and splashy public projects.

Loudoun County, a wealthy suburb outside of Washington, DC, is home to roughly 250 data centers that are operated or leased by tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Google to power artificial intelligence and the internet.

A tax on computer equipment inside the expansive facilities and property taxes that include the land where the centers sit on are expected to generate a whopping $1.3 billion next year — accounting for 40% of the county’s total tax revenue, according to the county’s 2027 fiscal year budget.

The infusion of cash has slashed residential property taxes in the enclave — home to the country’s highest median income — by roughly 30% over the past decade, the New York Times reported.

The data centers have also helped bankroll a luxe $102 million recreation center with multiple pools and hydro-massage chairs; a $22 million conversion of former President James Monroe’s estate into a park; and the construction of two new schools with a third on the way, according to the outlet.

The county’s ballooning $5.4 billion budget has allowed for the expansion of fire and emergency services, roads, bridges and recreational facilities.

The county has also added 15,000 people to the local workforce with the data centers serving as job creators, according to Buddy Rizer, the executive director for economic development in Loudoun.

“People understood that the data centers were the reason we were building schools and keeping taxes low and those kinds of things,” Rizer told the outlet.

“From the day we started with data centers to today, more than half of the people are new, so they don’t remember when we were struggling financially.”

The success has made Loudoun a model across the nation, with officials in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware touring its so-called Data Center Alley for peak at the county’s cash cow.

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But the boom has also drawn backlash from residents fuming about the noise, pollution, excessive electricity demands and the scale of development of the data centers.

Loudoun has 53 million square feet of data centers — transforming quiet tree-lined neighborhoods into tech hubs.

“What is the quality of life for those who don’t even want to go outside because of the noise?” said Greg Pirio, 75, who bought a home in Loudoun County 14 years ago, according to the Times.

The data company Vantage has since begun construction of two data centers roughly 200 yards from his home.

“It’s gone way too far,” said Juli Briskman, a member of the county’s Board of Supervisors who proposed a moratorium on data centers in July.

“We’ve become addicted to the data centers for their tax revenues, but at what cost?”

Rizer claimed the criticism overlooks how much the data centers — which occupy 3% of the county’s land — have benefited the community.

“I call this the great overreaction,”he said.