(Chatham) — Developers now have final approval from Pittsylvania County leaders to build and open the area’s first data center.
The county’s Board of Zoning Appeals Thursday unanimously approved a Special Use Permit to create the 58 East Data Campus. Anchorstone, LLC wants to build the campus on over 900 acres on the south side of Route 58, just east of the Danville city limits.
Anchorstone investor Tom Gallagher says the $4-to-5 billion investment and will create up to 500 high-wage jobs at a well-buffered location. “We’ve created a lot of buffer space around our perimeter,” Gallagher said. “We will be developing about half of the land subject to this zoning.”
Gallagher says the campus will cut down on light pollution by adopting what’s called “Dark Sky Principles.” “What that means is a lot of shields and light diverters,” Gallagher said. “Nobody wants to light up the sky above. But from a security standpoint we will need ground-level lighting.”
And he says traffic at the site is projected to be low enough to where it would not prompt a traffic impact analysis. “The most impactful traffic is going to come during the construction phase,” Gallagher said. “At the end of the day with a full build out you’re probably looking at 200 full-time jobs.”
One of the 11 proffers in their permit puts a cap on the noise they can generate. “Because of the way we’re buffered we don’t see noise as an issue. By code if we are over 65 decibel at the property line we could be shut down,” Gallagher added.
But a handful of nearby residents are still opposed to the idea. Anne Smith says the location is FAR from ideal. “If you go to Boydton, Virginia there’s a data center there. Go at night. See how its lit up. It’s lit up like Las Vegas or New York City,” Smith said. “You could hear the noise two miles away. It was a buzz.”
Gallagher says a similar facility in Hanover County is expected to generate over one-and-three-quarter billion dollars in local taxes over its lifespan.
Earlier this year the county approved a rezoning of the property for the Data Center.
