Google buys Loudoun land for two data centers

Washington Business Journal ^ | 11/29/17 | Michael Neibauer

[markomalley]

Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has acquired two Loudoun County sites, one south of Ashburn and the other near Leesburg, for a pair of data centers.

The Loudoun Times-Mirror reported Wednesday that Google has laid out $89 million for the two sites, a 91-acre parcel within the 400-acre Arcola Center — just north of Route 50 — and the other a 57-acre property within the Stonewall Business Park near Leesburg.

“We’ve purchased property in Northern Virginia to increase our capacity and meet the growing demand for Google’s services in the area,” Google spokeswoman Liz Schwab told the Times-Mirror. “Loudoun County has been a great partner and we look forward to becoming a part of the community.”

Buddy Rizer, director of Loudoun's Department of Economic Development, told the Washington Business Journal his office has been working with Google for the better part of two years, "looking for multiple opportunities for them to exist in the county."

"We're incredibly excited by their investment here," Rizer said. "Obviously it's one of the top brands in the world."

And Google's investment, Rizer said, is a testament to Loudoun's reputation as as worldwide data center hub.

There were indications months ago of a major data center announcement in Loudoun.

According to public records, “Wheeler Survey Company LLC” acquired 71 acres — south of Evergreen Mills Road and west of Route 606 — of the 400-acre Arcola Center in early October for $39 million. A few months earlier, a mysterious site plan amendment was filed for the same site under the name “Project Motion,” though the county shielded the applicant’s name and purpose at the applicant’s request.

Then, on Nov. 21, county Supervisors Matt Letourneau, R-Dulles, and Tony Buffington, R-Blue Ridge, announced in a joint constituent newsletter that Arcola Center had inked a deal with a major data center tenant that would take up virtually all of the development’s flex-industrial land. That same newsletter also revealed that Wegmans had finalized a deal to open eventually at Arcola Center.

Arcola Center is the subject of a rezoning application first submitted to the county in 2016. It proposes to develop the site with about 500,000 square feet of retail, a 2.1 million-square-foot data center and more than 1,100 residential units — a mix of multifamily and townhomes.

[palmer]

Sounds like Google is competing to store data for use by the CIA which is about 5 miles away. With proper FISA warrants of course.

[markomalley]

Sounds like Google is competing to store data for use by the CIA which is about 5 miles away. With proper FISA warrants of course.

Actually, it's probably a lot less nefarious than that.

The largest Tier 1 Internet node on the East Coast is located in Sterling, VA (the former UUNET...purchased by MCI...purchased by Verizon). Guess what town Ashburn is located near?

(Note: the map is outdated as the Internet is a whole lot more complex now, but the nodes still center right there)

Level(3) (one of the other Tier 1 network providers) also has a major hub in....Ashburn VA.

Mega-data centers are often located near massive network hubs.

[garyb]

Leesburg, VA is about 25 miles away from Herndon, VA which is the East Coast home of Amazon Web Services.

[markomalley]

Leesburg, VA is about 25 miles away from Herndon, VA which is the East Coast home of Amazon Web Services.

And Herndon is literally next door to Sterling (which is where the network hub is located)

[ptsal]

bookmark
net neutral

[a fool in paradise]

Hording is only “bad” when private citizens do it in their homes.

When globalist Marxist corporations do it to wiretap on your every thought it’s “visionary thinking”.

[ßuddaßudd]

Loudoun bump

[Boomer One]

Just means more liberals willl be moving into Loudoun County. Area was solidly Republican when I worked there in 1991. Now I can hardly recognize the area when I go back. Like Fairfax, the population growth has displaced native Virginians and their conservative nature.

[ßuddaßudd]

I still communicate with a life-long resident there and hear about all the changes,, both good and bad..
He lives in Round Hill ...

[relee]

Surprised that Google took so long to join the party in Loudoun County.

biz.loudoun.gov/2017/10/13/vantage-data-center

I wonder if the 100th data center will open in 2020 or 2019?