Google has outlined its plans for a proposed data center development outside Richmond, Virginia.

News that the search giant was looking to develop on land next to the Meadowville Technology Park surfaced this year as the company announced plans to invest an additional $9 billion in Virginia through the end of 2026.

As reported by Richmond BizSense, the company has now filed plans with Chesterfield County for the development, known as Project Peanut.

The company is aiming to develop three 285,000 sq ft (26,477 sqm) buildings on the 300-acre site at 2700 Bermuda Hundred Road. Further details on capacity and project timelines weren’t shared.

Google has previously said construction could start this year, with the phased development starting with just one building.

Google reportedly bought the Project Peanut’s site for $18.1 million in 2020. The company has been operating through the Peanut LLC affiliate.

Google is also behind two other projects in the county: Project Skye in Moseley and Project Loch near Westchester Commons. The two sites – at 4200 Moseley Road near the planned Upper Magnolia Green technology park, while Watkins Centre South is located at 750 Watkins Centre Parkway – total more than 1,200 acres and were acquired for some $60 million this year.

Google operates one cloud region in Virginia that launched in 2017. After buying land in the county in 2017, it launched its first self-built facilities in the Old Dominion in 2019. A second facility in Loudoun County launched in 2021, and a third in Prince William County in 2023.

Last year, Google said it would be investing a further $1bn in its Virginia data center infrastructure.

In March 2024, a Google-linked company, Sharpless Enterprises, got approval for an 181-acre data center campus in Bristow, Virginia. Earlier this year, the company bought land in Virginia’s Botetourt County, west of the city of Lynchburg, near the border between Virginia and West Virginia.

Developer gets green light for Powhatan campus

Proposals for another data center campus outside Richmond were recently given the green light by local officials.

The Powhatan County board of supervisors last month approved a request from Province Group via Newport Equities LLC to rezone 61.8 acres off Page Road near Anderson Highway on the Chesterfield County line from Agricultural 10 (A10) to Light Industrial (I-1).

The news follows a previously approved request to rezone 120 acres in 2024. The county said the approval will result in a combined 181-acre campus for a planned 2 million sq ft data center development. County documents suggest the campus could total 300-400MW.

“I think this project will be a phenomenal addition to Powhatan and the future of this county,” said vice chairman Mark Kinney. “Especially to really balance out the revenue between commercial and residential.”

“It’s a parcel that’s (designated) for Economic Opportunity in our Comprehensive Plan, and it’s in alignment with our strategic plan,” added Chairman Bill Donati Jr. “It has very limited impacts with profound tax revenue.”

Staff and the Planning Commission initially recommended denial of the rezoning request, but staff eventually recommended approval of the request after further proffers were made.

The undeveloped land is owned by JMS Investments LLC, according to county documents.

California-based real estate firm Province Group filed to develop on 119.9 acres of land, currently undeveloped, at the Ellis Farm site north of US Route 60, in May 2024.

The firm had filed to rezone the land at 1318 Page Road in Midlothian from Agriculture 10 (A10) to Light Industrial (I-1). The company was given the OK by officials for the project last year.