Proposed data center incites opposition from hundreds of Henrico, Hanover residents

A crowd of several hundred people packed the gymnasium of South Anna Elementary School Nov. 17 in Hanover to push back against the Hunting Hawk Technology Center proposed on the Hanover-Henrico border.

The four million-square-foot data center project, headed by regional developer HHHunt, would include 10 62-foot buildings built on a 400-acre plot southeast of the intersection between Ashland and Cauthorne roads. The site, which includes the Hunting Hawk Golf Club property, would be just north of Wyndham, a major subdivision in Henrico with about 12,000 residents.

During a community meeting held by HHHunt and legal representatives from Hirschler, an impassioned crowd of residents – a little more than half from Hanover, about half from Henrico, and a small portion from Goochland – confronted developers with concerns about how a data center complex would impact their water, air quality, noise levels, and home values.

The complex, which would be completed by 2035 at the earliest, would be located in an area of Hanover that does not have access to public water and sewer services; residents there rely on their own wells and septic tanks.

“We don’t have enough water as it is,” said Lucille, a longtime Hanover resident who lives on Cauthorne Road. “During drought years, I choose – do I water my garden and feed my family? Or do I take a shower? There’s not enough water for a large data center.”

The data center would use about 10,500 gallons of water per day, which is 3,500 gallons less than what would be used by 40 single-family homes, according to Hirschler attorney Matthew Roberts, who represents HHHunt. The site is currently zoned for as many as 40 residences, but HHHunt is seeking to rezone the area.

Site sits less than one mile from 2 Henrico elementary schools

HHunt initially proposed a wastewater treatment facility for the site, but has since scrapped that from the proposal and instead anticipates using a closed-loop system of water brought in from offsite and also has proposed creating three onsite wells.

The site would include 300 of the “cleanest possible” diesel generators, said Roberts, that would run for up to half-an-hour once a month for routine maintenance, as well as during emergencies as needed. But many nearby residents still harbor concerns about what living right next to a data center could mean for their air quality.

The boundaries of the site are also less than a mile away from two Henrico elementary schools, Shady Grove Elementary and David A. Kaechele Elementary, which prompts major worries for residents like Jonathan Ward, a veteran who served in Afghanistan and now lives in Wyndham with his family.

“I’m on the burn pit registry, and I’ve seen firsthand what unchecked ambient air pollution does to the human body. I know what toxic air looks like,” said Ward. “I’ve never imagined that I would have to worry about anything like this in my own backyard, where my kids play and where they go to school at Shady Grove. . . my kids deserve clean water and clean air. They deserve to be able to see the stars at night.”

Residents also brought up the issue of noise; the data center would generate a maximum 57 decibels of noise during the day and 52 decibels at night, which according to Roberts, is about the level of noise created by typical household appliances.

But unlike a household appliance, the hum of generators from a data center would be a constant disruption in an area that is, for now, quiet enough to hear the nighttime sounds of wildlife, said Wyndham resident Kathy, who lives just 450 feet from the proposed site.

“You said that it’s like your dishwasher, but I can turn my dishwasher off if it’s aggravating me,” she said. “When I sit outside in my yard, I can’t believe how quiet it is and how dark it is. I love it. My life, our lives, our families, our health, and our homes are important to us. . . and I do not believe that this is not going to affect our health and the quality of our life.”

“Right now, when we go outside, we sit on our deck and I see no lights except for stars,” said Michael, a nearby resident. “I hear no noise except for crickets. I hear birds. I don’t want to hear the hum of a dishwasher.”

'What’s going to happen to Henrico?'

With Hunting Hawk Tech Center being proposed within the borders of Hanover, the county’s seven-person board of supervisors ultimately will decide whether the area is rezoned to allow for a data center. But many residents close to the site are located in Henrico, which has no jurisdiction over the data center’s approval.

The proposal is still early in the approval process, said Henrico supervisor Misty Roundtree, who represents Henrico's Three Chopt District and the Wyndham community. But Roundtree said she has been communicating Henrico’s concerns with the Hanover Board of Supervisors while trying not to “step on anybody’s toes.”

“I think it’s really important for Henrico folks to look around this room and see how many Hanover folks are here. Hanover needs to be at the forefront of this,” she said. “I know people don’t necessarily want to hear that. They want to hear about what we can do to force the needle to be moved on it, and there may be a place for that to occur, but I don’t want to jump the gun on that prematurely.”

At the community meeting, Roberts highlighted how the tech center would boost Hanover’s economy, bringing 420 new jobs to the area and tax dollars of about $8 million to $10 million to the county each year – roughly $490 per person in the South Anna District and $70 per person countywide.

But while Hanover residents will see benefits, many Henrico families feel that they will gain nothing from the new data center and have no say in the matter, according to Wyndham resident Maggie Winzeler.

“These pitiful tax cuts that you’re claiming that Hanover County is going to get, well, what does Wyndham get?” she said. “We get all of the damage of this data center and none of the supposed privileges. We take all of it.”

Henrico residents harbored similar concerns when Goochland’s Board of Supervisors approved a 5-mile-long Technology Overlay District for businesses such as data centers and nuclear reactor facilities along the Goochland-Henrico border earlier this month. The district extends just south of Wyndham and east of Henrico’s Short Pump area. 

Roundtree expects Hanover board to be 'open-minded' about decision

But Roundtree believes that Hanover could likely decide not to follow in Goochland’s footsteps.

“I think that they’re going to be open-minded about it. I’m not hearing the same thing that I’ve heard from Goochland. I haven’t heard that from Hanover,” she said. “I’m taking Hanover supervisors at their word right now that they’re going to listen to their constituents.”

HHHunt, which developed the Wyndham community 40 years ago, initially sought to use the 400-acre site to build another residential community. But after a years-long dispute with Henrico County, HHHunt ultimately lost access to a road that would have connected Wyndham to the proposed Hanover site, and this past August decided to pivot instead to a data center project.

Community members have questioned HHHunt about its decision to propose a data center adjacent to a residential community and less than a mile away from several schools.

“I don’t understand why we want to ruin a diamond that we have right now,” said Ray Reames, a 77-year-old Wyndham resident and grandfather. “I’ve got the grandkids who live right up the street from me. I fought cancer for like 12 years and thus far, I’m good. I just wanted to see my grandkids grow.”

Other residents have concerns that building Hunting Hawk Tech Center could attract even more data centers to the area in the future.

“They are attempting to turn Hanover, this area, into the next corridor. We are basically being fashioned to be Northern Virginia for big tech,” said Brandy Banton, a Hanover resident. “They’re setting a precedent here. We let this one go through, there will be more. They will eat up our county.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.