Amazon has backed away from plans to build a massive data center complex at the former George Washington University campus near Ashburn, striking a deal with Loudoun County to pursue mixed-use redevelopment instead. The agreement, announced Tuesday, puts an end to a proposal that would have placed roughly 800,000 square feet of data center space on the 122-acre site, according to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.
The county and Amazon announced the agreement Tuesday to avoid data centers being built on the George Washington University Virginia Science and Technology Campus north of Ashburn, according to Loudoun Times-Mirror. Amazon will instead rezone the tract for mixed-use development and hand over 25 acres to the county for cultural and entertainment uses, per the Washington Business Journal. Per the board of supervisors, the company has agreed to work with Loudoun County to turn the former campus into mixed-use projects that could include housing, an indoor sports arena, and a community arts center.
From Four Data Centers to a Different Vision
Amazon bought the 122-acre campus from George Washington University in February 2026, and by summer the company had filed an initial site plan calling for four two-story data center buildings. That filing, submitted in late July, described a complex totaling approximately 800,000 square feet, as reported by WJLA. The application had not been accepted for formal county consideration, and county officials disputed whether data centers could even be built there by right, suggesting the project might instead require special-exception approval from the Board of Supervisors.
Amazon had said it would honor George Washington University's ability to continue operating at the site for up to five years and did not plan to start construction until the university fully vacated the property. The university's Virginia Science and Technology Campus was shuttered in Ashburn on Aug. 6, 2026. The site plan drew pushback from Loudoun County residents and others who objected to the scale of the proposed data center footprint so close to existing neighborhoods.
Briskman Says She Wasn't Consulted
Supervisor Juli Briskman, who represents the district where the campus sits, said Amazon had not consulted her office before purchasing the campus. Fellow supervisor Kristen Umstattd voiced concerns about the cost of houses and roads under the mixed-use plan now taking shape. The Board of Supervisors has directed the county administrator to rezone the land for residential use and strip away the data-center zoning that had opened the door to Amazon's original proposal.
Board Chair Phyllis Randall said she was pleased the campus would not have data centers and that the new direction would meet county needs. Randall also said Amazon provided $5 million to Loudoun County's housing trust fund, along with funding to support scholarships. Amazon has said it contributed more than $2.1 billion in property taxes and fees to Loudoun County between 2016 and 2025.
A Broader Data Center Reckoning in Loudoun
The reversal at the GW campus lands amid a wider debate over the pace of data center growth across Loudoun County. A majority of supervisors voted in September to explore a temporary pause on certain data center and electrical-substation applications, a measure that could halt consideration of covered projects for up to 12 months — though it would apply only to projects requiring special approval from the Board of Supervisors, not every data center application in the county, according to WJLA.
That pause discussion, originally slated for Tuesday, has now been pushed back to Nov. 17. The county is also conducting a broader review of its data center rules, including siting standards, with that review expected to wrap up in summer 2027, the station reported. Loudoun County's own data shows the scale of what's driving the debate: the average existing data center runs about 234,000 square feet, but permits issued since 2023 have produced buildings averaging closer to 339,000 square feet, according to Loudoun County government figures.
Loudoun County had amended its zoning rules in March 2025 to require special-exception approval for new data center uses in specified industrial districts, a change that figured into the dispute over whether Amazon's original GW campus proposal could proceed without a vote from the Board of Supervisors. With that plan now shelved in favor of housing, arts, and entertainment uses, the former university campus becomes one more data point in a county still working out how much data center development it wants within its borders.
