AVAIO Digital to Build $3B Data Center Campus in Virginia

December 11, 2024

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The project will be developed on more than 450 acres in Appomattox County.

As the push to build more data centers continues across the country, AVAIO Digital Partners announced plans to build a $3 billion data center campus on 452 acres in Appomattox County, Va.

The Perseus Data Center campus in Northern California — AVAIO Digital is also moving forward with plans to develop The Perseus Data Center campus, the first phase of its 76-acre Pittsburg Technology Park in Northern California. *Image courtesy of AVAIO Digital Partners*

The Appomattox County Economic Development Authority and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin were both on board, especially given that the campus will use substantial on-site green power.

AVAIO Digital has confirmed 300 MW of power from Central Virginia Electric Cooperative and Dominion and is cleared and ready for rapid construction.

The project is the latest addition to the company’s expanding portfolio of hyperscale facilities across the U.S. and Western Europe. AVAIO Digital has also recently launched plans to develop a 92 MW data center campus in the Bay Area. The $800 million Perseus Data Center marks the first phase of the developer’s 76-acre Pittsburg Technology Park in Pittsburg, Calif.

Hurdles ahead?

While some developers are getting deals done, others are facing pushback. This month, a proposal for a data center on Atlanta’s West Side was postponed by the Atlanta City Council after widespread pushback from the community, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Council recently passed a law banning data centers from being built near the Beltline and within a half mile of MARTA rail stations.

CIM Group, which in June closed on an initial $125 million loan commitment to fund the construction of Applied Digital Corp.’s high-performance computing campus in Ellendale, N.D., was able to gain permit approval permit for a fourth data center in Atlanta by submitting the project before the town council’s vote. The 10-story project will be adjacent to its existing 56 Marietta St. location. The proposed site at 10 Forsyth St. NW currently serves as a parking lot.

In South Florida, tenants have not embraced the data center development that has been delivered. Miami’s vacancy rate for instance is 16.4 percent, according to Data Center Hawk, as first reported by Bisnow. Nearly a fifth of the market’s data center space is unused, whereas in major markets like Northern Virginia, Dallas and Atlanta, vacancy is below 3 percent.

Miami lacks the key components to drive an efficient data center: a reliable, always-on power supply and controllable humidity and temperatures. Extreme weather events are another deterrent.

“Data center developers are encountering resistance from local governments and residents who view data center facilities as unsightly and power-hungry additions to their communities,” Howard Berry, principal of National Data Center Solutions, Avison Young, told Commercial Property Executive.

“In response, local governments in tier-one markets are re-examining their approval processes for data centers, potentially leading to extended wait times and increased developer scrutiny.”

Berry said that data center developers are facing significant delays in bringing their projects online. Utility electricity approval can take 12 to 18 months, and utility companies require up to 55 months to activate power.

“In some cases, speculative developments may wait up to six years before receiving power to their data centers, posing a major challenge for those looking to deploy and scale their operations quickly.”