Varina residents push against new data center proposed on Darbytown Road

Noise pollution, environmental impacts, increased traffic, decreased air quality, and an elementary school just down the road – these were some of the many concerns Varina residents brought up at a community meeting about a proposed data center off Darbytown Road.

On Aug. 7, nearly 100 community members crowded the library of Varina High School to attend a meeting with leaders from Wagner Urban Logistics LLC, which wants to build a data center on a 195-acre site northwest of the intersection between Darbytown Road and Laburnum Avenue. Over the course of several hours, many residents – the majority of whom were against the new data center – spoke out about their concerns.

The proposed site would be right across the road from the New Market Village neighborhood and just half a mile from George F. Baker Elementary School. A large data center placed so close to a residential area is “unacceptable” to the nearby community, said one New Market Village resident.

“Would you want a data center right across from your house? Near your child’s school?” she said to developers. “I’ve been following data centers for many years, and they are presenting many challenges to the residents who live near them. We do not deserve this across the street from our home. There is a place for you in Henrico, but not on Darbytown Road.”

The Henrico Planning Commission is scheduled to consider Wagner Urban Logistics' provisional use permit request for the data center at its Aug. 14 meeting, though a deferral to a subsequent meeting has been requested. Planning Department staffers recommending approval, as well as a noise study and a plan to protect environmentally sensitive areas surrounding the site.

“Our neighborhood is not the right place
for a data center.”

The Henrico Board of Supervisors will vote on the proposal in the coming months, following the planning commission's consideration and recommendation.

Varina District Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, who attended the community meeting, said that he has visited several of the neighborhoods near the site of the proposed data center and has found that most residents do not support it.

Henrico School Board member Alicia Atkins, who represents the Varina District, also said she was “extremely concerned” about the new data center, but was “thankful for the opportunity” to discuss concerns with the developers directly.

The data center, which would not open until at least 2029, would include eight 225,000 square foot buildings about 500 feet away from the nearest residential area. Each building would have 35 fans and the main generators would not be located on the site. The site’s backup generators typically would run twice a month for 30 minutes each, and in cases of emergency.

NOx emissions concerns

For many residents, one of the main concerns was the NOx emissions, or nitrogen oxides, that would be produced by the center’s diesel generators. These gases are pollutants that contribute to air quality issues such as smog and acid rain.

 But recent data from areas with data centers – including Loudoun County in Northern Virginia, which has the highest concentration of data centers in the world – has shown that NOx emissions have remained relatively consistent over the past 10 years, said David Wagner, who founded Wagner Urban Logistics LLC in 2022.

“While there is some NOx emissions – that is definitely the case – as a percentage as a whole, it is fairly low,” he said.

Wagner, who grew up and still resides in Western Henrico with his family, said that his firm is focused on working with the community and protecting the well-being of the local residents and environment. 

“I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old, and I feel the exact same way that you do. I wouldn’t want my child going to a school where there is bad air and things like that,” he said. “And that’s why we’re so focused on the actual effects of what we’re doing.”

He also said the firm sent physical letters and emails to each homeowners association in the surrounding area to notify residents of the proposed data center. However, several residents at the meeting said they had never received notice about the new data center.

“A lot of us that are assembled here today live in New Market Village. We're very concerned, and we're very upset about the fact that this is being proposed so close to our residential subdivision,” said one resident. “You said that someone came in and walked through New Market Village. I won't doubt that maybe you did, but the board of directors never talked to anyone about it.”

“You didn’t invest in us and you didn’t ask us,” said another New Market Village resident. “All you had to do is contact us across the street, but you didn’t do it, and now you want to come to us to ask us if we can give you suggestions for how to pass this. This was done the wrong way.”

Facility would create 400 jobs

The creation of the data center would create 400 high-paying, full-time jobs, Wagner said, and some would likely go to people in the local community, although he said he could not “make a guarantee” that all of these jobs would go to Varina residents. The construction of the data center, which would take about two years, also would create thousands of construction jobs, he said.

But several community members expressed concerns that the center’s high-paying jobs would not be filled by local residents, and that the creation of the center could even cause the displacement of residents.

“What happens over time for the people who left because they don't want to be near a data center, is that we face the risk of being displaced,” said one New Market Village resident. “Those same high income earners that they're seeking to attract will not be from here. They will not be from this community. And they will end up displacing us as residents. We've seen that often over time.”

Henrico County is currently home to more than a dozen hyperscale data centers, with more likely coming on board. This past June, the Henrico Board of Supervisors approved new restrictions on proposed data centers that would require all developers to obtain a provisional use permit.

But despite stricter measures, Henrico residents still have many concerns about how existing and future data centers will impact their property values, electricity bills, air quality, water quality, and the character of their communities.

“I’m a mother of three small children, all of whom will be enrolled in Baker Elementary. . . and I’m also a resident of New Market Village. So when can my children breathe in good air?” said one resident. “Western Henrico and Eastern Henrico are two different things, and it just feels like we’re dumping all the trash here for us.”

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.