Amazon has withdrawn its application to develop a data center campus at the George Washington University Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Virginia, in Northern Virginia's Loudoun County, the heartland of the global data center industry.

The withdrawal follows weeks of meetings between the company and Loudoun County officials and strong opposition from local residents and students to the proposed development.

Announcement and agreement details

The announcement was made by Loudoun Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall, who said in a post on social media that she, the county attorney, and the county administrator had held meetings with Amazon "over many weeks," concluding with a new agreement known as "Project Potomac Promise."

"My goal was to disallow any data centers or infrastructure that could support data centers on this property," Randall said. "Through our collaborative conversations, Amazon has agreed to withdraw its proposed application and – of note – forego any legal action to realize data center development on this site."

The site and the original proposal

Amazon acquired the 122-acre campus from George Washington University in March. The site, located along George Washington Blvd, was purchased by Amazon Data Services for USD 427 million on a five-year sale-leaseback basis, an arrangement giving the university time to relocate and the cloud company time to secure planning permission.

Amazon had hoped to develop a four-building campus totaling 800,000 sq ft (74,320 sqm) known as the Bridgefield Tech Center. However, the proposals faced major pushback from local residents, students, and an increasingly anti-data center county board.

Earlier this month, Loudoun County staff told the board of supervisors that Amazon would need additional county approval before starting work on any data centers on the property, citing a zoning determination stating that data centers were not permitted as a primary use on the site.

Project Potomac Promise: land donation and housing commitments

As part of the newly announced agreement, Amazon will dedicate roughly 25 acres of land to Loudoun County, valued at around USD 65 million. Randall said the parcels were "ideal" to develop as a new Community Arts Center and Indoor Sports Facility.

Amazon has further committed to rezone the remainder of the land for mixed use and needed residential uses, including attainable and market-rate housing. The company has also made a USD 5 million donation to the county's housing fund.

"I want to thank Amazon for their willingness to meet and engage," Randall said.

Amazon's response

Josh Weissman, VP for data center capacity delivery at Amazon, said the company valued its long relationship with the county. "Amazon has been building in partnership with Loudoun County for 20 years, and we deeply value that relationship. Today, more than 3,400 Amazon employees live in Loudoun County. Our team moved to seize this opportunity when approached by the University about a sale, but as we heard the community's pointed concerns about data center development at this particular site, we took them seriously."

On the question of zoning, Weissman acknowledged the disagreement between the company and county officials. "While we see the property's legal development potential differently than the county does, we concluded that the best outcome for all is to come together on a shared vision for this campus rather than engage in costly litigation. Project Potomac Promise reflects that choice, and we look forward to working with Chair Randall, the county staff, and development partners to move this plan forward. Given Loudoun's proximity to Amazon's corporate and retail operations, we appreciate the need to expand attainable housing options as the county experiences rapid growth."

Loudoun's shifting stance on data centers

Northern Virginia is the world's major data center hub, with hundreds of facilities totaling gigawatts of capacity in the area. Much of this capacity is centered around Loudoun County, where Amazon owns or leases a large number of facilities.

Recent years, however, have seen county officials push back on data centers as more and more facilities have been built. Officials have removed data centers as a by-right zoning option and are exploring removing by-right status from sites that were previously grandfathered in. Both county- and statewide moratoriums on new developments are also being considered.

The withdrawal of the Ashburn campus application marks a significant concession by the cloud giant in a county where it has long maintained a substantial presence and reflects the growing tension between data center development and local opposition in the region.

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