SpotsyTech Campus data center, Thornburg, Virginia

The SpotsyTech Campus, a 2.9 million square foot industrial and data center park on about 314 acres in Thornburg, Spotsylvania County, Virginia, won its rezoning in March 2023 on a 4-3 vote of the Board of Supervisors. SpotsyTechnoCampus LLC asked to rezone the land between U.S. 1 and Interstate 95 from agricultural to industrial; it borders Riverview Elementary and Thornburg Middle schools.

The campus sits north of the Mudd Tavern and Morris Road intersection, on land that also borders Hickory Ridge Road and North Roxbury Mill Road. The first phase would be up to a million square feet in three warehouse and logistics buildings, and the second up to 1.9 million square feet in as many as nine two story industrial or data center buildings of 187,500 square feet each, with room for an on-site substation. The developer put the cost at $366.5 million and planned construction from 2023 to 2030. The land, formerly Pierson Farm, sold to SpotsyTechnoCampus for $6 million in 2022, and county documents list Matteo Coppola as the company's vice president. The developer said the campus could bring the county $4.5 million a year in taxes, and offered $3.4 million for road improvements on U.S. 1 and at Hickory Ridge and Roxbury Mill roads. No megawatt figure or tenant has been published.

The vote was close. Supervisors Deborah Frazier, Kevin Marshall, Tim McLaughlin and David Ross voted for it; Chris Yakabouski, Lori Hayes and Jacob Lane voted against. At the February 2023 public hearing, several residents spoke against it over traffic and infrastructure, and the board delayed its decision to learn more about data centers first. The Planning Commission had recommended approval 5-1.

Spotsylvania's rules have tightened since. The county banned permanent use of drinking water for cooling in November 2023, and since February 24, 2026 every new data center needs a special use permit and public hearings. Proffers accepted with a rezoning, such as SpotsyTech's road improvements, stay with the land if it is sold, and the county enforces them; SpotsyTech and other approved projects have committed to a 65 decibel noise limit.