Data Centers

Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg Breaks Ground on $180 Million Wastewater Plant Expansion to Serve Future Growth — and Data Centers

By Uriah Kiser
City leaders break ground on Fredericksburg’s $180 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade and expansion on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. The four-year project behind Dixon Park will modernize the city’s aging facility, expand capacity, and reduce nutrient pollution flowing into the Rappahannock River and Chesapeake Bay.

Fredericksburg officials gathered Tuesday afternoon to break ground on the largest public works project in the city’s history — a $180 million upgrade and expansion of the wastewater treatment plant behind Dixon Park.

City leaders say the modernization will prepare Fredericksburg for decades of residential and industrial growth, reduce nutrient pollution in the Rappahannock River, and provide the infrastructure needed to serve new industries — including data centers planned within the city’s Technology Overlay District.

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Stafford

Stafford Supervisors approve $2.4M wastewater project as data center boom fuels alarm

By Uriah Kiser

The Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, to move forward with a $2.4 million wastewater treatment upgrade — a long-planned infrastructure project that has become the latest flashpoint in the county’s debate over data center expansion.

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Fredericksburg

Gerlach Says Fredericksburg Candidates Have Not Taken Money from Data Center Developers

By Uriah Kiser
Gerlach [Photo: https://www.facebook.com/JonGerlachFXBG]

In an October 6 opinion column published in The FXBG Advance, Gerlach said no city council candidate “has received donations from any data center company,” calling the suggestion “a deliberate attempt to confuse and deceive voters.” His remarks come amid heightened tensions in the city’s election season, with several candidates facing accusations of taking “data center money” following the appearance of anonymous campaign signs last month.

As Potomac Local News reported on September 19, state campaign finance records confirm that Matt Rowe (Ward 1), Joy Crump (Ward 2), and Susanna Finn (Ward 3) each received donations from Charlie Payne, a Richmond-based attorney with the law firm Hirschler who represents developers involved in the Celebrate Virginia South project, and data center development projects in surrounding jurisdictions. Payne is not a developer himself, and the contributions came from him personally — not from a data center company or political action committee.

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News

Lawsuit Against Prince William Chair Jefferson Raises Fears of Chilling Effect on Public Engagement

By Uriah Kiser
Desundra Jefferson, Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair At-large [Photo: Alan Gloss]

Last week, Atlantic Funding Limited LLC sued Jefferson as a private citizen, alleging she spread misinformation during two town hall meetings about the company’s plan to build five data centers on 61 acres behind the Four Seasons retirement community in Dumfries. The lawsuit claims Jefferson acted in a “malicious and deliberate” attempt to stir opposition to the project.

Jefferson, who campaigned against locating data centers near homes and schools, declined to address the specifics of the lawsuit. In a statement, she emphasized her process in evaluating land-use applications.

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Podcast

Data centers, Buc-ee’s, and Stafford’s future: Bart Randall talks campaign issues

By Uriah Kiser

Stafford County is at a crossroads. From the debate over data centers to a controversial Buc-ee’s proposal, residents are raising tough questions about growth, taxes, and transparency.

In this episode of the Potomac Local News Podcast, host Uriah Kiser sits down with Bart Randall, a 25-year Navy veteran, 19-year Stafford resident, and candidate for the Garrisonville District Supervisor seat, vying to unseat incumbent Pamela Yeung.

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Prince William

No Data Centers to Be Found: Prince William Board Approves Limited Development in Nokesville

By Caitlyn Meisner
The recently rezoned section along Route 28 in Nokesville. [Courtesy of the Prince William Planning Commission]

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.

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Prince William

Prince William Just Rejected a Data Center for the First Time

By Uriah Kiser

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors made history Tuesday night, voting 4–2 to deny the Bristow Campus Data Center proposal—the first time the county has ever rejected a data center application.

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Prince William

Residents Rally to Delay Bristow Data Center Vote Until Gainesville Has Representation

By Uriah Kiser
Elena Schlossberg, executive director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, speaks during a press conference outside the McCoart Government Building in Woodbridge on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, urging supervisors to delay a vote on the Bristow Data Center Campus.

Community groups gathered outside the McCoart Government Building Tuesday evening ahead of a scheduled vote on the Bristow Data Center Campus, calling on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to delay the decision until the Gainesville District has representation.

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Prince William

Who Gave the Order? Bristow Data Center Vote Brings Transparency Questions

By Uriah Kiser
Protesters gather outside the Prince William County Government Center in Woodbridge urging the county to limit the areas in which data centers may be built, and to decline the Digital Gateway project next to the Manassas National Battlefield.

A planned vote on the Bristow Data Center Campus on Tuesday, September 9, is stirring debate over how Prince William County leaders make decisions on data center projects and who directs the county’s lawyers in court.

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Prince William

Harders and Stewart Both Oppose Data Centers—Here’s What Sets Them Apart

By Uriah Kiser

Voters in Prince William County’s Gainesville District will choose a new supervisor this fall, filling the seat left vacant after the death of Bob Weir in July.

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