An aerial view of Briarfield Estates and Hiddenwood in Northern Virginia.
Photographer: Chuck Fazio/Bloomberg
The World’s Data Center Capital Has Residents Surrounded
Northern Virginia housing developments that will soon be walled in by data centers exemplify the tensions over unfettered growth, as calls increase for regulation.
When Bala Thumma moved into the Briarfield Estates in 2013, he was excited for its prospects. The new development in rural Northern Virginia was surrounded by seemingly endless farmland, and he was told it would eventually flourish into a vibrant residential community.
Loudoun County, where Briarfield is located, was one of the fastest-growing counties in the US at the time. Its economy was thriving on the expansion of the internet thanks to an abundance of cheap, flat land close to Washington, DC. Generous tax breaks helped propel Loudoun as a top destination for tech firms looking to build data storage and processing facilities — and within a decade, it would be crowned the data center capital of the world.