Data center giant QTS preparing 1,100-acre expansion that would add 17 buildings to its Henrico hub
QTS is planning a significant expansion of its data center hub in Henrico County, Virginia, adding 17 new buildings across 1,100 acres. This expansion, including two campuses named RIC4 and RIC5, involves securing permits for 370 diesel-fired emergency generators and follows prior rezoning and development plan approvals from Henrico County. The county also recently changed its rules to require provisional-use permits for all new data center projects.
Data center operator QTS is moving forward with a major expansion of its Henrico County hub in eastern Virginia, planning to add 17 new data centers across two sites totaling 1,100 acres in the Varina area. The expansion includes campuses referred to as RIC4 and RIC5, which will add nearly 8 million square feet of data center space to QTS's existing 3 million square feet at White Oak Technology Park.
The company has submitted an application to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for a permit to operate 370 new diesel-fired emergency generators. This is in addition to 544 generators and 11 cooling towers already permitted. QTS acquired the land for these expansions, including a 478-acre site (RIC4) from the Henrico Economic Development Authority for $43.8 million and 400 acres for the RIC5 site from Hourigan for nearly $119 million, following a prior rezoning.
Henrico County has already approved development plans for RIC4 and RIC5. The RIC5 project will feature seven data centers on 236 acres of a 622-acre site, while RIC4 will host 10 data centers on 127 acres of a 478-acre site. This development by QTS represents one of the last major data center rezonings approved by Henrico County supervisors before the board implemented new rules requiring provisional-use permits for all subsequent data center projects.