From the Prince William Times:
“Prince William County officials will not move forward with a plan to build a $130 million indoor sports complex with taxpayer money and instead are returning to the idea of trying to recruit a private company to build it as part of a larger development dubbed “The Landing Town Center.”
Both the facility’s price tag and the county’s obligation to potentially cover millions in annual operating expenses led to the decision, according to Kenny Boddye, vice chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.”
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors discussed a proposed Affordable Dwelling Unit (ADU) Ordinance during their meeting on November 19, 2024. The ordinance aims to address housing affordability challenges by increasing the availability of affordable housing units within the county and implementing a Housing Trust Fund to bolster development efforts.
The ADU Ordinance would allow developers to include affordable units within new residential developments voluntarily. Although mandatory ADU policies exist in other jurisdictions, Prince William County cannot enforce such measures under Virginia state law. Instead, the county incentivizes developers to participate by offering benefits such as expedited permitting processes, reduced fees, and increased development flexibility.
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On November 19, 2024, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved the extension of Marina Way in Woodbridge. The long-awaited project will create a new road connecting Horner Road to the Occoquan Riverfront, transforming access to the area and marking a significant milestone in the redevelopment of North Woodbridge.
A Road Through History
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The Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved a resolution on November 19, 2024, to transfer $484,007 from the county’s contingency fund to address litigation costs and hire additional staff to handle data center real estate assessments. The resolution passed with a 6-2 vote, with Gainesville District Supervisor Bob Weir and Coles District Supervisor Yesli Vega opposing the measure.
The funding will allocate $300,000 for outside legal counsel to manage lawsuits involving data center tax assessments and $184,007 to create two new full-time positions in the Finance Department’s Real Estate Assessments Division. The new positions will focus on the valuation and legal defense of assessments for data centers, which have rapidly become the county’s largest source of commercial tax revenue.
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The Prince William Board of County Supervisors will address three significant topics during their meeting on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, reflecting a focus on housing, infrastructure, and community development.
1. Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance Presentation
The Board will discuss a proposed Affordable Dwelling Unit (AfDU) Ordinance designed to expand the county's supply of affordable housing for residents earning 50% to 80% of the area median income. Highlights include:
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The proposed Bristow Campus data center project, slated for consideration by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on November 19, 2024, has been deferred.
Gainesville District Supervisor Bob Weir noted that the applicant may have anticipated a lack of support for the project. “I think they know they don’t have the votes,” said Weir. It’s unclear when supervisors may take up the case.
The Bristow Campus development, led by Stack Infrastructure, aims to rezone agricultural land near Nokesville Road and Broad Run Creek into a Planned Business District. This rezoning would permit two high-rise office buildings and light industrial structures up to 75 feet tall.
The proposed site plan includes a 50-foot buffer to protect critical areas, 25 acres of preserved open space, and nearly 14 acres dedicated to parks and recreation. A trail along Broad Run Linear Park is also planned.
Community leaders and residents have expressed growing concern over the increasing presence of data centers in Prince William County. Kathy Kulick, Vice Chair of the HOA Round Table of Northern Virginia, highlighted the potential impacts of data centers on residential communities.
“We’re essentially a discussion and information exchange forum for residential community leaders,” said Kulick, explaining her organization’s role in helping local communities understand development projects. Data centers, according to Kulick, often bring noise, environmental concerns, and infrastructure strain. “Data center noise is real… residents don’t really realize what’s going on until one night they can’t sleep,” she said, adding that diesel generators and air quality impacts are additional concerns.
Kulick also noted that this development falls outside the Prince William County Data Center Overlay District, a designated area approved in 2017 to provide infrastructure suited for data centers. The Overlay District aims to ensure new data centers have access to adequate water and power, yet, as Kulick pointed out, “This Bristow Campus… is located outside of that area.” This deviation has raised questions about whether the county’s infrastructure can support the energy demands of the data center, prompting discussions around alternative energy sources, including small modular nuclear reactors.
The Bristow Campus project mirrors other controversial data center developments in Prince William County, including the recently approved Devlin Technology Park. This project, backed by Stanley Martin Homes, has faced ongoing legal challenges from residents of the Bristow area, who formed the group Defend Devlin. These residents, represented by attorney Donna Gallant, are appealing a previous court dismissal of their case, hoping to prevent data centers from being constructed near Chris Yung Elementary School and several neighborhoods.
If approved, Bristow Campus would be part of a larger trend bringing data centers to residential areas, despite objections. Prince William County residents, particularly in the western region, are facing the possibility of high-rise data centers encroaching on neighborhoods, schools, and parks, potentially altering the character of these communities.
The HOA Round Table of Northern Virginia is working to alert residents across multiple counties, including Loudoun, Fairfax, and Fauquier, about potential developments. In addition to noise and environmental concerns, Kulick raised the issue of rising utility costs for residents, as extensive infrastructure upgrades would be necessary to support the Bristow Campus and similar developments.
Bristow residents may soon have another massive data center campus as their new neighbor.
Despite community objections over environmental and infrastructure concerns, the Prince William County Planning Commission has approved a plan to rezone 58 acres in Bristow for a large-scale data center campus. The project, known as Bristow Campus, is slated to move forward to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, who will make a final decision on November 19, 2024.
- As proposed, the Bristow Campus data center project involves the construction of two three-story data center buildings, each spanning 450,000 square feet, totaling 900,000 square feet of data center space.
- Additionally, the development includes a substation to support the facility's power requirements.
The proposed development, led by Stack Infrastructure, would rezone agricultural land to a Planned Business District to construct two high-rise office buildings up to 75 feet tall and light industrial structures on Nokesville Road near Broad Run Creek. With site improvements, including a 50-foot perimeter buffer along critical areas, the applicant has committed to preserving 25 acres of open space and dedicating almost 14 acres to the county for parks and recreation, adding a potential trail connection along Broad Run Linear Park.
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Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chair, at-large Deshundra Jefferson, is on the mend after having had surgery for Crohn’s disease. This chronic inflammatory bowel condition has affected her health over the past two years.
Now two weeks post-surgery, Jefferson reports feeling “pretty good” and looks forward to resuming her duties full-time, including attending Zoom meetings and tackling a backlog of emails next week. Despite her temporary absence, Jefferson is grateful for her colleagues, especially Supervisor Boddye, who stepped up in her absence, as well as her staff, friends, and supportive 16-year-old son. “These things are kind of frightening until you actually go through them,” she shared, noting the relief of finally addressing symptoms that had worsened over the past few months.
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At the October 15, 2024, meeting of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, the county’s mobile libraries were celebrated for their vital role in delivering educational and health resources to underserved communities. These mobile units, known as the "13th branch" of the Prince William Public Library (PWPL), are helping bridge gaps in access to services and fostering community engagement.
Launched in March 2024, the state-of-the-art Mobile Library was officially introduced at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on February 21, 2024. County leadership, library staff, and community members gathered to mark the occasion, inviting attendees to tour the new addition to the library system. As part of PWPL's broader initiative, the mobile library is a critical component of the newly formed Community Outreach Services division. It aims to bring library materials, programs, and technology to areas that need them most.
