Formal permit application filed for Tuckahoe Tech Park data center campus in Goochland
Tract has filed a formal conditional use permit application for the Tuckahoe Tech Park, a massive 870-acre data center campus in Goochland County, Virginia. The proposal includes changes like non-evaporative cooling and increased setbacks to address resident concerns, but still faces significant local opposition. The application is currently under review and is expected to be heard by the Planning Commission in October.
Denver-based developer Tract has submitted a formal application for a conditional use permit for its proposed Tuckahoe Tech Park, an 870-acre data center campus in eastern Goochland County, Virginia. The project, which would feature approximately 12 buildings totaling 3 million square feet and a 900-megawatt capacity, is the first data center proposal under the county's recently established technology overlay district (TOD West), where conditional use permits are required. Since its initial pre-application in June, Tract has modified the plan to address community feedback, incorporating a commitment to "non-evaporative" cooling systems, which the company claims will reduce water usage by 95%. The proposal also includes increased setbacks for generator areas and equipment, as well as enhanced vegetated buffers, and lowered permitted sound levels at the property perimeter from 55 dBA to 52 dBA. The site is intended to be served by public water and sewer connections, which would require extension.
The Tuckahoe Tech Park project has generated substantial opposition from Goochland residents, who have raised concerns about potential impacts on noise, environment, and property values. Community members have attended county meetings and held rallies to protest the development. Residents have also questioned Tract's optimistic financial projections given that the end users for the data center buildings are not yet known.
Tract, which specializes in land acquisition and infrastructure development for data centers before selling parcels to other firms, anticipates generating $400 million in real property tax revenues and over $600 million in personal property tax revenues over the first 20 years of the park's operation, alongside an estimated 350 permanent jobs. The formal application is currently undergoing completeness review and is slated for consideration by the Goochland Planning Commission as early as October, followed by a decision from the Goochland Board of Supervisors. This proposal follows Tract's unsuccessful attempt to secure approval for a similar data center campus, the Mountain Road Technology Park, in neighboring Hanover County, which supervisors rejected in May with a 4-3 vote.