Following the Planning Commission’s approval in early July, the Board followed up with its own approval of the two-fold application that requested nearly 19 acres of land be rezoned to accommodate limited future development.
The developer wants to amend the CPA and rezone the area to allow for the limited development in a truly mixed-use area of commercial and retail to the north; industrial trucking and storage to the south; railroad tracks and small residences to the east; and single-family homes to the west.
The CPA, according to staff documents, would allow for more industrial development while removing the possibility of addressing housing needs in the future.
The staff report highlights that this area would be reserved for small businesses and warehouse and storage needs rather than data centers. Noah Klein, an attorney involved with the application, reiterated this point at the early July Planning Commission meeting.
“From a regional standpoint, this project will serve pretty critical economic development needs. In particular, the need for light industrial warehouse flex type development in an environment where data centers [are] truly absorbing available space,” Klein said. “From a local standpoint, this project will both foster and develop small business.”
The Nokesville Business Park’s approval also comes as members of the community have rallied against the Bristow Data Center Campus proposal along Nokesville Road. The project would rezone 58 acres to allow two data centers to be built — totaling about 540,000 square feet — outside of the county’s official Data Center Overlay District. The proposal was deferred by the Board, but they ultimately voted against the rezoning and special use permit on Sept. 9.
Brentsville District Supervisor Tom Gordy said he was excited about the Nokesville Business Park, hoping it would bring more small businesses to the area.
“We all know that one of the significant impacts of data centers is [they are] making land unaffordable for small businesses to operate. … The Nokesville Business Park is a solution to help us open the doors for small businesses to have a chance to make it in Prince William County,” Gordy said. “… We went through a lot of work on this case to make sure that we get this right, to make sure it’s compatible with the Nokesville community [and] maintains our rural feel.”
Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye echoed Gordy, saying the county needed to “make room” for businesses other than data centers.
“Data centers are the big dog on the court right now, but we do have to make room for other types of businesses, and sometimes we can co-locate those things depending on the opportunities given,” Boddye said.
Correction Sept. 18, 2025, at 10:07 a.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Board of County Supervisors only deferred the Bristow Campus data center proposal. The Board voted against the proposal at its Sept. 9 meeting.
