'We need our Henrico leadership to step up': Nearby Goochland data center park prompts concerns for Henrico residents

Goochland County is encouraging data center development along five miles of its border with Henrico, prompting pushback from Western Henrico residents who live less than a mile away.

Since Goochland’s Board of Supervisors approved the new technology overlay district along Route 288 in November of 2025 – aiming to attract data centers to the county – developer Tract has already proposed a 900-acre data center campus, “Tuckahoe Technology Park,” just west of Henrico’s Tuckahoe District. 

Now, Henrico residents nearby Short Pump are fearful of a “rapid development of data centers” on the Goochland side of the border, which sits less than a mile away from a number of Henrico neighborhoods.

“While I understand that these facilities technically sit right over the border in Eastern Goochland County, their real-world impact will not stop at a county line on a map,” said resident Meredith Kozera. “These industrial complexes are slated to be built shockingly close to our established housing developments and our neighborhood elementary school.”

“We’re very concerned about the proposal of data centers quite literally in our backyard,” said Courtney Dare, who lives in the same neighborhood as Kozera. “Not only just due to the health and safety of my neighborhood, our homes, but also the known concerns with the power systems that will be running basically in the backyard of Nuckols Farm Elementary.”

At Tuesday night’s Henrico Board of Supervisors meeting, several Western Henrico residents said they harbor many concerns about how Goochland’s data center tech park, which stretches from Kain Road to Patterson Avenue, will cause excessive noise, harm the neighborhood’s air quality, cause runoff to spill into Tuckahoe Creek, and could even spike residents’ water and electricity bills.

“We chose to buy homes and raise our families in Henrico because of the incredible quality of life that this county offers,” said resident Jessica Harrison. “We don't want to watch our property values and peace of mind be eroded by a project happening just a few hundred yards away across the creek.”

Goochland County has less than 10% of the population of Henrico, but residents of that rural county have consistently pushed back against the data center park, with some residents even suing Goochland County over the park.

Recent amendments to the tech overlay district would also prioritize data center projects on the parcels east of Route 288 and closer to the Henrico border. Dominion Energy has already planned new transmission lines and power substations that would run alongside the interstate, although Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas said that the plan still needs approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

Residents urged Henrico leaders to increase communication with Goochland County and publicly advocate for more protections for nearby Henrico homeowners. 

“What troubles me most is what appears to be a lack of cross-county attention and open communication surrounding the issue,” said Kozera. “I ask this board to proactively engage with Goochland leadership, assess the true cross-county impact, and most importantly, keep Henrico County residents informed.”

Three Chopt District supervisor Misty Roundtree said that she has personally spoken out against the tech overlay district at Goochland Board of Supervisors meetings and that Henrico leaders were “as proactive as we could be” to address the issue.

“We had talked a lot as the Goochland situation was coming up, really putting our heads together – everybody, County Manager [Vithoulkas], all of [the board of supervisors], all the staff,” she said. “We cannot wave that wand to do what we want…but I will continue to be open to suggestions, and continue to speak out and talk with my colleagues. There’s not a stone that I think we’ve left unturned at this point, but we’ll keep on.”

Roundtree said she has also had conversations about what can be done at the state level to mandate cross-county discussions if a local project will likely impact another locality.

While Goochland leaders ultimately have the authority on the data center projects, Vithoulkas said that the locality still purchases water from Henrico – about 5.25 million gallons a day. Goochland only uses about half of that allocation, according to Vithoulkas, and will have to make a decision on whether they distribute the rest of the water to commercial industries such as data centers or residential developments.

“Henrico doesn’t tell other localities that we sell water to what they can do with it, but understand that there is a finite resource of water that Goochland has,” he said. “And they’re going to find themselves in a very difficult position if they continue only looking at one side of the ledger, which is the commercial side, as opposed to the residential.”

Once complete, the 900-acre Tuckahoe Technology Park data center campus would require almost 70 times more power than all of the households in Goochland. The water demand could vary from 25,000 to 600,000 gallons per day, with 50,000 to 2 million gallons required during peak demand.

Vithoulkas said that there have been conversations between Henrico and Goochland leaders about expanding Goochland’s allocation of Henrico water, but those discussions have “not gone anywhere.” 

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.