Home Care In Ashburn, VA

As the exponential proliferation of smartphones, streaming services and doorbell cameras continues unabated, there is a corresponding need for data storage and dissemination. To meet the demand, more and more data centers are coming online in Dallas, Chicago, Northern California, New York and New Jersey.

By a wide margin, Northern Virginia is the No. 1 site for data centers in the country and the world. These highly specialized buildings house the computer servers and routers that make digital interconnectivity possible.

Just beyond the far-western suburbs of Washington, D.C., Ashburn, Va., is the epicenter of “Data Center Alley,” anchoring a collection of nearly 300 data centers, scattered across Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties, handling more than a third of the world’s online traffic. Many more are in the planning stages or currently under construction.

Early data centers were built as massive featureless boxes, surrounded by spiked fences and nearly devoid of aesthetic appeal. More recently, attempts have been made to soften their appearance with the use of glass, color, architectural flourishes and landscaping. Many of the newer examples look more like oversized suburban office parks than warehouse distribution centers. But unlike offices and warehouses, data centers pay taxes but require little in the way of government services in return.

Loudoun County alone takes in close to $600 million annually in tax revenue from data centers, enough to cover all the county’s operating expenditures. A report by the Northern Virginia Technology Council estimates that the area’s data centers were responsible for nearly $174 million in state revenue and $1 billion in local tax revenue in 2021.

Northern Virginia didn’t become the data center capital of the world by accident. Proximity to the nation's capital had a lot to do with it, at least initially. In the 1960s, a federally funded precursor to the Internet was created to link the Department of Defense with research institutions and universities, creating a need for data storage. These early achievements in network connectivity laid the groundwork for what would become the Internet.

In 1992 a group of network providers in Virginia joined forces to create one of the first network access points, providing an “Internet on-ramp.” America Online, later known as AOL, soon moved its corporate headquarters to Loudoun, bringing investments in fiber-optic cable and energy infrastructure with it. Established companies and tech entrepreneurs followed, installing fiber, spinning off new companies and building momentum for what would follow.

With plenty of affordable land, low-cost energy, little threat of natural disasters and a robust fiber network, Northern Virginia was soon recognized as the perfect place to expand the Internet. Virginia was one of only a handful of states that offered incentives to the nascent industry when it enacted its first data center tax exemption in 2009. Today more than 30 states offer similar exemptions.

As the proliferation of data centers in Northern Virginia continues, Data Center Alley may soon be a victim of its own success. The industry’s seemingly insatiable appetite for electricity is running up against a finite supply. Dominion Energy supplies electricity to much of Virginia, 20 percent of which is consumed by data centers. In just the last few years, the utility has connected 70 new centers, equivalent to powering 650,000 homes.

A year ago, Dominion admitted that its transmission infrastructure had not kept pace with the proliferation of data centers, warning that it might not be able to meet their power needs going forward. Substation expansions and new transmission lines are among a host of improvements underway following a temporary pause in new data center connections.

If the supply of power is ever interrupted, on-site emergency diesel generators stand ready to keep the lights on and computers humming. But the generators are a temporary and imperfect solution, potentially spewing emissions into the air. Citing concerns about an overburdened power supply, last year the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality proposed waiving air quality rules for data centers in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, allowing them to use their generators to reduce the strain on the electrical grid. The proposal was first narrowed and then ultimately withdrawn after criticism from residents and environmental advocates.

Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft are among the many companies that have declared their intention to eventually be powered 100 percent by renewable energy. How and when that will happen remains unclear. Rooftop solar installations would only produce a small fraction of the energy a data center uses. Off-site solar will require vast amounts of land to be cleared, increasing the industries’ already large footprint and raising the ire of rural residents.

Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William counties continue to lure data centers to set up shop in Northern Virginia, enticing their owners with tax breaks and streamlined permitting. At one time the massive structures were largely out of sight. With their proliferation, they have become harder to ignore, igniting opposition to projects that encroach on residential neighborhoods and Civil War battlefields.

Many are beginning to weigh the economic benefits against quality-of-life and environmental costs. A controversial plan to site large data centers on 2,000 acres of rural farmland in Prince William County was passed last fall despite vocal opposition. In the political fallout, a prominent member of the board of supervisors and proponent of the plan was recently defeated in the Democratic primary. Even as some Northern Virginians are becoming increasingly resistant to new data centers, Gov. Glenn Youngkin envisions a future of statewide expansion, recently announcing a $35 billion deal with Amazon Web Services to establish several new campuses.

Wherever they are located, the need for data centers is only going to increase in the coming years, spearheaded by the use of AI which depends on massive amounts of data and computing power, and lots of electrical energy. Despite the recent setbacks, it’s unlikely that Northern Virginia will lose its position as the No. 1 data center location any time soon, even as other jurisdictions in Virginia and across the country vie for a piece of the action.

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Cologix has pre-leased a new 120-megawatt data center in the center of Data Center Alley in Ashburn, Virginia, the company said today. The three-story, 455,000 square foot building Scalelogix ASH1 facility is one of the largest single data centers in North America, said Cologix.

The tenant is described as a "major global technology company" and began operations at the site in May.

The deal is one of the largest single-building leases in memory, and illustrates the extraordinary demand for new data center capacity in Ashburn, the focal point for Internet connectivity in the massive cloud cluster in Northern Virginia.

Scalelogix ASH1 was built on one of the world's most desirable pieces of cloud real estate. The Cologix campus is the former site of the Christian Fellowship Church on Beaumeade Circle, and sits next to the world’s largest Internet intersection, adjacent to campuses for Equinix, Digital Realty and Amazon Web Services.

The new Ashburn campus is a key component in Cologix's strategic shift to larger hyperscale campuses. The company's Scalelogix strategy was enabled by a $3 billion recapitalization in December 2021, which brought in new investors and used an asset-backed securitization to reduce the company’s borrowing costs.

“We’re aggressively expanding our hyperscale edge portfolio across North America in response to growing demand from major global cloud providers and large digital enterprises,” said Cologix Chief Revenue Officer Chris Heinrich. “With their massive scale and top-tier performance, our Scalelogix data centers provide high-speed, ultra-low latency and highly secure access to fixed, 5G and public cloud networks that today’s businesses require for success.”

Cologix bought the land in 2018, and announced a groundbreaking in 2020, but didn't begin active development until late 2022. But once Cologix began construction, the building was delivered in just seven months from permitting to commissioning.

“Many positive factors contributed to the project’s successful and efficient timeline, including transparent partnerships and communications with all parties involved every step of the way,” said Cologix Chief Development Officer Nathan Hazelwood. “I am so proud and appreciative of the entire Cologix team and our invaluable partners and vendors, as we’ve built a superior facility that will provide exceptional capabilities for our customers doing business at the digital edge.”

ASH1 is the first Cologix project built using Modular Electrical Rooms (MERs), prefabricated modular assemblies filled with electrical infrastructure that can be rapidly deployed at a data center facility. The facility also features a high efficiency, closed-loop cooling system, and a hot-aisle containment design allowing up to 35 cabinets per row.

But the real story of the new site is connectivity, as it sites next door to the Equinix campus that serves as the world's largest network intersection. The data center includes highly-connected Ashburn Meet-Me-Rooms (MMRs) and is part of Cologix’s robust interconnection ecosystem of more than 700 network providers.

DCF asked Cologix if the 120 megawatts is available now or if it will be deployed in phases, but we have not had a response as yet.

Cologix' purchase of the land also worked out well for the Christian Fellowship Church, which used the proceeds of the sale to build a new $25 million worship center near the One Loudoun mixed-use community.

ASH1 is one of three new Scalelogix data centers to be launched by Cologix in the next year, including facilities planned in Columbus, Ohio and Montrèal, Canada.

Anyone who may have come into contact with the cat or its kittens should contact their health care provider or health department.

ASHBURN, Va. — The health department in Loudoun County is putting out a warning to anyone who may have come in contact with a rabid cat at a local shopping center.

The cat and its kittens were at an Ashburn restaurant and shopping center.

The Loudoun County Health Department said at least five people they know of came into contact with the cat. The cat tested positive for rabies.

Residents were exposed this week near the Chick-fil-A and Red Robin restaurants on Yukon Drive in Ashburn, as well as the Shoppes at Ryan Park on Greenway Corporate Drive.

The cat is described as a gray/brown tabby with white markings and was demonstrating abnormal aggression and experiencing tremors when it came into contact with the people, the health department said.

The cat was seen with three kittens, two light orange and one dark gray with white markings.

Anyone who may have visited the shopping center between July 31 and Thursday, and came into contact with the cat or kittens, should contact their health care provider or the Loudoun County Health Department at 571-233-7317 or [email protected].

Loudoun County Animal Services is investigating the area for additional animals. Anyone who sees animals that are behaving irregularly or aggressively should call LCAS’ Humane Law Enforcement Division at 703-777-0406 or 703-777-1021 after hours. Additional information is posted on the LCAS website.

Rabies is a virus that is spread through the saliva of infected animals, typically through a bite or saliva-contaminated scratch. Residents are encouraged to avoid contact with unattended animals to minimize the risk of bites or disease. Seeking evaluation and potential medical care for exposure to animals with rabies as soon as possible is very important because rabies is a fatal disease if treatment is not begun before the start of symptoms. More information on rabies is posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at cdc.gov/rabies.

After opposition during a public hearing and comment period, Virginia regulators are scaling back a proposal to allow data centers in Northern Virginia counties to run diesel generators over a three-month period to alleviate potential electric grid strains.

Initially, the Department of Environmental Quality proposed the temporary lifting of air emission limits, a change known as a variance, for data centers in the counties of Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax. But on Monday, DEQ restricted the variance to facilities in Loudoun.

[Read more: Va. regulators propose easing emission limits for data centers over power transmission concerns]

“DEQ takes the public participation process very seriously and is making appropriate revisions to the proposal based on that input,” said DEQ Director Michael Rolband in a statement on the revised variance.

In January, DEQ proposed the short-term change after PJM Interconnection, which operates the regional electric grid, had flagged in its five-year forecast rising electricity demand in Dominion territory due to data center development.

The variance would exempt from short-term air emission limits those data centers located in areas for which PJM issues a warning that there are acute strains on the transmission system. Those facilities would then be allowed to run their backup generators. The variance would be in effect until July 31.

At a public hearing in Woodbridge Feb. 27, dozens of residents and groups opposed the temporary change, saying it could have negative health, environmental and noise impacts.

At the same hearing, Josh Levi, president of the industry group the Data Center Coalition requested that DEQ narrow the variance to Loudoun.

[Read more: Temporary air pollution exception for data centers sparks opposition in Northern Virginia]

“We recognize that DEQ proposed the variance extend to the counties of Prince William and Fairfax out of an abundance of caution,” Levi stated. “However, given Dominion’s assurance that the impact of the transmission constraint is limited to Eastern Loudoun County, we believe there is an opportunity to be more precise in addressing potential risks.”

The region of Loudoun County known as Data Center Alley is home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world. Almost 300 data centers in Northern Virginia support about 70% of the world’s internet traffic.

The revised notice also includes DEQ estimates of how the variance could impact emissions from the approximately 4,151 diesel generators located at data centers in Loudoun County.

A single generator at a Loudoun data center on average emits every hour almost 45 pounds of nitrous oxides and non-methane hydrocarbons, 24 pounds of carbon monoxide and 3 pounds of particulate matter. Particulate matter are tiny particles that, if ingested, can lead to heart and respiratory issues.

DEQ said it does “not anticipate that any data center will need to use this variance.”

“History indicates that those PJM events” that would trigger the variance “are rare, averaging approximately 24 hours per year over the past 5 years,” the agency wrote.

Along with the Data Center Coalition, a number of commenters also supported the variance, saying it will help facilities maintain reliability of the internet.

The comment period on the variance has been extended through April 21. Another public hearing will be held on April 6.

ASHBURN, VA. — A partnership between American Real Estate Partners (AREP) and GreenBarn Investment Group has acquired a development site in Ashburn, located in Northern Virginia’s Loudoun County approximately 30 miles west of Washington, D.C. The site is fully approved for the construction of 200 build-to-rent homes. The price was $120 million.

National homebuilder Dream Finders Homes originally acquired and entitled the site before selling it to the partnership. Genesis Capital, a subsidiary of New York City-based REIT Rithm Capital Corp., provided an $86.4 million loan to the partnership to fund both acquisition and construction costs. Rithm Capital is also an equity partner on the project.

According to the property website, CityHouse Ashburn Station will consist entirely of three-bedroom units with an average size of 2,000 square feet. Preleasing for Phase I of the project is currently underway, and the development team expects to fully complete the community within the next 15 months.

Residences will offer attached private garages, large island kitchens, full-size washers and dryers and various pieces of smart home technology. Residents will also have access to sports courts, communal green spaces, pet-friendly facilities and indoor/outdoor entertainment areas. Rents start at around $4,000 per month.

“With this acquisition, our partnership is taking an opportunistic investment approach to redefine and elevate the build-to-rent sector,” says Brian Katz, AREP’s co-founder and president. “This approach encapsulates AREP’s signature strategy of creating truly unique properties in vibrant and emerging locations and our agility to invest in high-impact niches of the real estate market.”

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BLOOMINGTON, ILL. — AXIS 360 Commercial Real Estate Specialists has brokered the $3.3 million sale of the former Ovation 10 Entertainment Complex in the Chicago suburb of Bloomington. Located at 415 Detroit Drive, the property originally opened as Carmike Cinemas in 1999 and was renovated in 2015 to include a full-size kitchen and bar with in-theater dining service. The Ovation Cinema Grill closed at the start of the pandemic and never reopened after parent company, New Vision Theaters, filed for bankruptcy. Michael O’Neal and Meghan O’Neal-Rogozinski of AXIS 360 represented the seller, NV Propco Acquisition. Sherye Przybyla of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services represented the buyer, FMB Holding Inc.

ROMULUS, MICH. — Marquette Cos. has reopened The Maxwell, a 312-unit apartment community in Romulus. The firm completed an $8 million revitalization project to address previously deferred maintenance issues as well as property updates.

Exterior upgrades include new and repaired hardscaping, restoration of the pool and deck with new furnishings, repaired and upgraded building exteriors, replacement windows and the addition of a dog park. The community clubhouse now features a renovated fitness center, updated finishes in the resident lounge, a new catering kitchen and a new leasing office. Renovations to the units include new cabinetry and countertops in the kitchens with black appliances, along with new flooring and paint. Hallways and common areas throughout the community’s 26 buildings were also renovated. Marquette worked closely with city officials prior to acquiring the property and throughout the renovation, and used local vendors for the construction work.

Built in 1972 as Morgan Manor, the property was a popular home for pilots and flight attendants due to its proximity to the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The community offers studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans ranging from 650 to 850 square feet. Monthly rents start at $885. Marquette partnered with DRA Advisors on the acquisition.

MUSKEGO AND OAK CREEK, WIS. — Walker & Dunlop has arranged $16 million in HUD-insured loans for the acquisition of two assisted living properties in metro Milwaukee. Kevin Giusti and Daniel Barone of Walker & Dunlop arranged the financing on behalf of the borrower, a developer. The first property is Caring Alternatives of Muskego, a 30-unit community located on Pioneer Drive in Muskego. The second is Caring Alternatives of Oak Creek, a 45-unit property located on 13th Street in Oak Creek.