How One Virginia County Turned Data Center Money into Affordable Housing

Henrico County, Virginia has implemented an innovative program to turn data center tax revenue into a $60 million affordable housing trust fund. When a developer requested to rezone land for a new data center, the county supervisors demanded the company address community concerns and give back to the community. Henrico decided to use the data center tax revenue to kickstart an affordable housing project, targeting teachers, nurses, and other middle-income workers who were priced out of the local housing market. Over the past two years, the affordable housing fund has awarded money towards the construction of 383 affordable units, helping 30 buyers like teacher Emma Swainston close on new homes with an average of $80,000 in assistance. The program works with developers to expedite the building process and provides fee waivers as incentives. However, Henrico County remains wary of data centers and has imposed new requirements on them, including distance from residential areas, noise limits, and water usage restrictions. The county rejected a recent data center proposal, saying it has reached its limit on data centers it can sustainably support. Local leaders hope Henrico's model of turning data center revenue into affordable housing can be replicated across the country as a way to address the housing crisis.