Cut it 70%. Still got recommended for denial.

2023

DC Blox files $500M, 195K SF campus application

DC Blox — an Atlanta-based data center operator — proposes a $500 million, 195,000 SF campus on Azalea Avenue in Henrico County. The site requires a Conditional Use Permit given the residential context of the surrounding area.

2023–2024

Community opposition mounts over noise and scale

Residents in adjacent neighborhoods organize against the project. Primary objections focus on diesel emergency backup generators — a required component of any data center — and the industrial character of a 195K SF facility in proximity to residential properties.

Scale-Down

DC Blox cuts the project to a single 70K SF building

Attempting to address opposition, DC Blox reduces the proposal by 70% — from a 195,000 SF multi-building campus to a single 70,000 SF facility. The project value drops accordingly. The developer believes the reduction will satisfy staff concerns.

November 2024

Staff recommends denial — generator noise remains the issue

Henrico County planning staff issue a recommendation of denial for the scaled-down application. The cited reason: diesel generator noise incompatible with the residential character of the surrounding area. The size reduction did not address the structural site constraint. DC Blox withdraws the application.

February 2025

Revised smaller plan filed — outcome uncertain

DC Blox files a revised, further reduced application in February 2025. The underlying site conditions — residential adjacency, generator noise sensitivity — remain unchanged. The core incompatibility that drove the November 2024 withdrawal has not been resolved.