How did Chesterfield County land a $9B Google deal? The answer goes back 30 years.
Chesterfield County's $9 billion Google data center deal is the culmination of three decades of strategic zoning decisions, tax policy changes, and negotiations. The county proactively positioned itself for data center development by lowering tax rates and resolving land-use disputes. However, the Board of Supervisors has now indicated they are not interested in approving any more data center projects, effectively halting further development.
Chesterfield County, Virginia's $9 billion Google data center investment is the result of a 30-year strategic effort by county leaders to attract technology and industrial development. The foundation was laid in 1996 when Meadowville Technology Park was zoned for industrial technology, a decision Deputy County Administrator Jesse Smith noted made the site attractive for data centers.
The county's journey included the construction of its first data center in 2006, followed by the Commonwealth of Virginia establishing a sales and use tax exemption for data center equipment in 2010. After losing a bid for a Facebook data center in 2017, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors strategically lowered the data center tax rate from $1.80 to 24 cents per $100 in 2019 to enhance competitiveness.
This policy shift attracted Google, which began purchasing property under the codename "Project Peanut" in late 2019. Further Google projects, "Project Loch" and "Project Skye," involved overcoming land-use challenges; for Project Loch, the county denied FedEx's plan for a truck terminal, leading to a lawsuit and eventual rezoning for a data center. Google's three data center campuses across nine buildings were approved in May 2025, with the $9 billion investment announced in August 2025.
Now, county leaders, including Jesse Smith and Deputy County Administrator Matt Harris, have signaled a halt to further data center development, stating the board is not interested in approving additional projects. The approved Google data centers are projected to generate $300 million to $500 million in tax revenue, potentially shifting the residential-to-commercial tax burden and funding a proposed reduction in the car tax rate.