Data centers in Frederick County, Maryland: 3 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Frederick County has frozen new data center applications until July 1, 2027. County Executive Jessica Fitzwater extended the pause on September 14, 2026, the same day she turned down a deal from the developer of Quantum Frederick, the 2,100-acre campus north of Adamstown on the old Alcoa Eastalco aluminum smelter. The freeze does not stop work already under way there: Aligned Data Centers, Amazon Web Services and Rowan Digital Infrastructure have all broken ground, though none of their buildings was running as of June 2026.

Catellus's company Quantum Maryland had offered $110 million for schools, parks and other community benefits, plus 20% less building and 80% less drinking water, if the county promised not to change its zoning rules against the campus for eight years. After hundreds of comments, Fitzwater said residents "do not want to see any more decisions made about data centers, not until we have the next county council seated, and not until the state completes its impact study." County Council seats are on the November 3, 2026 ballot, and several residents told WYPR data centers will decide their vote.

Since December 2025 new data centers have been limited to one zone of about 2,600 acres around the campus, set by a 5-2 council vote. More than 21,000 residents signed a petition to put that map to a referendum, but in June 2026 Maryland's Supreme Court ruled it could not go on the ballot. State inspectors have found the site out of compliance or needing fixes in at least 67 inspections, and in 2024 crews drilling a fiber line released drilling fluid into streams without reporting it.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.