Gigaland developers weigh smaller footprint for Remington data center

Aerial map of Remington site off Lucky Hill Road with superimposed development rendering. Provided by Fauquier County Community Development.

The developers of a proposed 2.2-million-square-foot data center outside Remington say they are considering reducing the project’s physical scale in response to public opposition and input from the project's end user— a change that could impact projected tax revenue for Fauquier County.

The potential changes were discussed during a July 23 virtual town hall hosted by co-founder Art Lickunas of Haymarket-based Gigaland LLC. 

The Gigaland application is currently scheduled to go before the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors for a vote on Sept. 11. However, Lickunas said the timeline could be pushed back if changes are submitted.

“If there are some changes to the current plan, there’s been some talk of reducing the scale. If that happens, the meeting might get delayed due to the county’s timing. Meaning, however long they’ll need to review the amendments,” he said.

First introduced in January 2024, the project would span 202 acres south of Lucky Hill Road just outside the Remington town limits. As proposed, it includes seven two-story buildings up to 80 feet tall, four electrical substations, a water treatment facility, aboveground storage tank and two wells.

To move forward, the project requires multiple land use approvals: a comprehensive plan amendment, a rezoning request, a Category 20 Special Exception for utility infrastructure and a waiver to allow access via Lucky Hill Road.

The Fauquier Planning Commission voted 4-1 in June to recommend denial of the application. A public hearing before the Board of Supervisors was postponed in July.

Co-founder of Gigaland LLC, Art Lickunas, speaks to the Fauquier County Planning Commission ahead of its vote on the Remington data center application on June 18.

Lickunas said changes to the layout are being considered after conversations with the project’s future user, which has not been named but is a publicly traded company. 

“We talked about potentially doing one-story buildings, and if we [make that change], the way this particular user builds, they would be 25-feet-tall, which is lower than a residential home,” he said. “That would make a lot of difference for a lot of folks in the county who [were opposed to the heights].”

He said "he ultimate goal is to basically protect as much tax revenue for the county,” but he acknowledged that adjusting the layout may alter the projected financial return, stating, “If the revenue is based on 2 million square feet, that’s the $100 million dollars plus projection annually. Now we cut that in half ... now the revenue to the county will be $50 million.”

However, Lickunas told community members the revenue loss is not guaranteed. 

“We had a call today with our end user ... and they said it might not even be a drop in the tax revenue, even if we scale down the project as far as square footage, because the equipment is getting more expensive,” he said. “The graphics processing unit chips are super expensive and only have lifespans of three to five years, so you have to replace them. And that’s how the county would generate tax revenue on new equipment.”

Lickunas also said the team is exploring various configurations to reduce the project’s impact, including shifting buildings back from the road or removing some structures altogether. 

“The way we designed it initially was utilizing the maximum footprint and the maximum square feet that we can develop on this particular site,” he said. “So those are the kind of conversations that we are having now ... "

He added that part of the site, located outside the Remington Service District line, is already off limits for development, acknowledging the county’s disinterest in expanding its service district. 

Art Lickunas, during the July 23 Gigaland town hall, annotated an aerial rendering of the data center's campus with a red line to indicate the location of the Fauquier service district.

Lickunas also addressed questions about infrastructure, stating Dominion Energy’s nearby Marsh Run- Remington line replacement would supply sufficient capacity. 

“Those two lines can carry about 1.3 gigawatts of power each. So, sure, there’s plenty of power on those lines. There will be no additional power lines needed,” he said.

As currently proposed, the project would include $15 million in proffers toward Fauquier’s Purchase of Development Rights program, which allows landowners to voluntarily sell their development rights to the county in exchange for keeping farmland undeveloped. If participation in the program is low, the proffer could be redirected to support schools, law enforcement or firefighters, Lickunas said.

The question of how tax revenue from data centers would be spent was raised by Cori Morley, a local parent who supports the project. 

“Once the data center is built and the tax revenue starts coming in, how do we get a promise that the money goes directly toward the teachers and the schools and the first responders?” she asked.

Lickunas responded, “The answer is that it’s up to [Fauquier’s] elected officials to choose, because revenue generated goes to the general fund.”

He also stated the project was designed with the goal of helping to address the county’s limited commercial tax base, which he said contributes to budget pressures in areas such as education and public safety.

During the town hall, residents and speakers presented arguments both for and against the project. Warrenton resident and industry professional David Zorger questioned whether community members fully understand the purpose and benefits of the development. 

“You make a good point in all the values of negative revenue. But I would say what people want to understand is beyond the financial values to the county and how it increases revenue,” Zorger said during the meeting. “People want to know, ‘Why do I want a data center in my county?’”

Members of the Fauquier Community listen to county staff present Haymarket-based developer Gigaland LLC's application for a Remington data center on June 18.

Protect Fauquier, a nonprofit opposing the development, has voiced concerns about "over industrialization," noise and generator impacts on the Remington community. Member Cindy Burbank told Lickunas during the town hall that while the group does not oppose all data centers, it believes the county is nearing a threshold. 

“We think that we began to go to a tipping point of more industrialization of the county and unnecessary tax revenues and a lot of impacts from the generators and the noise on the town of Remington,” Burbank said. She also pointed to the millions of square feet of data center space already approved or pending elsewhere in the county.

“Using your estimate of revenue per square foot, [those existing, approved and by-right centers] would bring the county something like $130 million per year,” Burbank added. “The opposition feels we’ve already got a lot of data centers in the pipeline and a lot of revenue.

Lickunas responded, “It’s wonderful that there is some revenue in the pipeline ... but looking five to 10 years from now, it doesn’t look like Fauquier County is positioned to be competitive and remain competitive.”

As the developers continue conversations with county staff and the end user, the timeline for a final vote remains tentative. 

“We are ready to move forward, close on it and go for rezoning,” Lickunas said, “but it depends on what the county decides.”

Another virtual town hall to discuss the Gigaland project has been scheduled by the developer on Zoom for Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m.

SOURCE: Fauquier NOW