Amazon.com, Inc. Scraps Virginia Data Center for Housing

Amazon.com, Inc. has abandoned plans to build the Bridgefield Tech Center, a proposed 800,000-square-foot data center campus on the former George Washington University campus in Ashburn, Virginia. The company purchased the property for $427 million in February but reversed its decision following intense resident opposition and zoning disputes with local officials.

Under a negotiated agreement called Project Potomac Promise, the company will repurpose the 122-acre site for residential and mixed-use development. Amazon.com, Inc. will donate approximately 25 acres of land, valued at $65 million, for a community arts center and an indoor sports facility, and contribute $5 million to the Loudoun County Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The company has also agreed to forego any legal action to develop data centers on the site.

This reversal occurs as Loudoun County manages rapid industry growth, with the board of supervisors recently considering a 12-month pause on new data center applications. The situation reflects a broader national trend of increasing political risk for hyperscale infrastructure. Similar pushback has emerged in Ohio and Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott has shifted from supporting data centers to expressing skepticism during his re-election campaign against Democratic representative Gina Hinojosa. Economists suggest that local moratoriums and environmental reviews now pose more immediate risks to AI infrastructure buildouts than federal legislation.