Tract has announced plans for a 2.4GW data center park outside Richmond, Virginia.
The company, which develops data center parks where companies can build their own data centers, this week announced the acquisition of 1,200 acres of land in Hanover County for a new campus. Hanover is located around 25 miles north of Richmond.
At full build, Tract’s Hanover Technology Park will support up to 2.4 GW of power capacity, with Tract targeting site energization in 2028.
Tract said it is engaged in permitting activities for the initial horizontal development, which it expects will commence within the calendar year.
Tract and Dominion Energy have already ordered long lead equipment for the initial substation and power for bridging purposes is expected as early as 2026.
“The US economy’s demand for services provided from data centers continues to grow. We worked with the State of Virginia and Hanover County to responsibly site this project in an area planned for light industrial uses to maximize community benefits and minimize impacts to neighbors,” said Grant van Rooyen, CEO of Tract.
“The public process made our application better, enabling a thoughtful investment that will bring tax revenue, hundreds of high-paying jobs for Hanover County and attract other technology businesses to the region.”
Tract is led by van Rooyen, president of the van Rooyen Group and founder of US data center firm Cologix. Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners acquired a majority stake in the company in 2017.
Reports Tract was planning a Virginia site surfaced in late 2023. Planning documents suggest up to 46 buildings may be developed on the site, located on the south line of Hickory Hill Road (State Route 646) at its intersection with Old Ridge Road (State Route 738). The company reportedly paid $33 million for the land.
After several delays, zoning, and entitlements for the site were approved unanimously by both the Hanover County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors earlier this year.
“Tract took a proactive and cooperative approach throughout the rezoning process,” said John Budesky, Hanover County Administrator. “They showed interest in being a good neighbor by engaging with the community and adapting their plans to address residents’ concerns. We value Tract’s investment in Hanover County and look forward to partnering with them on this project.”
The Timmons Group and Hirschler Fleischer, PC supported Tract in the entitlements and transaction process.
While Northern Virginia is the data center capital of the world, the Richmond area is also home to a number of developments. The likes of Chirisa, Hourigan, Amazon, Meta, QTS, and others have data centers in operation or development in the area.
News of Tract surfaced in 2022 – at the time, it had reportedly identified 40,000 acres of potential investment sites.
The company officially launched last year with plans for a 2GW, 2,200-acre development in Reno, Nevada. The company has since broken ground on the site.
Tract says it owns or is under contract on more than 20,000 acres across the United States, which are in various stages of rezoning, design, or horizontal construction.
As well as Reno, the company has announced plans for a 668-acre campus in Eagle Mountain, Utah.
Tract recently withdrew an application for a large campus in the Buckeye area of Phoenix, Arizona. However, van Rooyen told DCD this week the company has other sites in the Phoenix area that it is moving forward with instead.
