The site of the former Virginia Bazaar in the Ladysmith area of Caroline County was once a weekend excursion for shoppers seeking a bargain on everything from household goods to clothing and sports memorabilia.
Now, the former home to one of the largest indoor/outdoor flea markets in the nation is set to become a data center campus.
County officials announced last week that at the end of the Aug. 12 board of supervisors meeting, the board voted to approve a performance agreement with CADC VA-1, LLC, a subsidiary of CleanArc Data Centers Operating, LLC.
The data center will be located on 650 acres, just east of Interstate 95 off Exit 110, and developers anticipate a total $8.8-billion investment in the county at full buildout.
The agreement allows CleanArc and its affiliates to develop three data center buildings at 490,000 square feet each, and then lease the data hall space within those buildings to hyperscale data center users and/or operators.
Bowling Green District Supervisor Jeff Sili cast the lone vote against the project. The agreement also permits the possibility of two additional buildings on 87.5 and 126.6 acres. CleanArc projects that each building will generate $2.9 billion for the county. The company expects to add 50 jobs that will pay 150% of the county’s average wage.
“In exchange for this anticipated capital investment and job creation, the County will provide funds to its Economic Development Authority for the purpose of making annual grant payments to CleanArc and its tenants upon the completion of each building,” a statement from the county noted. “These annual grant payments will be drawn from the increased real estate and personal property tax revenue generated at the project site as a result of the project, and therefore will function as a tax rebate after these taxes are paid each year.”
The county offered more incentives to the company if the first building is completed by Sept. 30, 2027.
The county’s statement noted that it offered incentives to CleanArc because the more than $13 million in annual tax revenue equates to approximately 17% of the county’s general fund budget.
“These funds can be used in a myriad of critically important ways by the county,” the statement said. “Among other things, this tax revenue will be needed for new and upgraded schools, new county facilities, fire engines and ambulances, EMS providers and sheriff’s office deputies, water and sewer upgrades, road improvements, and other increasing expenses on the horizon.”
No rezoning or special exception permit was required for the property, which is zoned Industrial, because at the time the applicant first applied, a data center could be built on the land by right. The county voted on Dec. 10, 2024, to require a special exception permit on Industrial parcels.
“CleanArc had already submitted site plan approval applications, completed extensive review, study and preparation of the project site, and made significant financial investment in the project prior to the change,” the statement from the county noted.
No potable water will be used for cooling the facilities, but county water will be used for flushing and washing. According to county officials, the most likely other use for the land was a distribution center. Such a use was previously approved at the site, but the application was withdrawn after the first round of the site review process.
“Any such use would add significant truck traffic onto a portion of Ladysmith Road that is not currently well-suited to accommodate it,” the county statement read.
The board met on Tuesday for the first time since the approval of the data center campus.
Supervisor Jeff Black of the Western Caroline District mentioned another source of potential funding for schools: a ballot referendum on a 1% sales tax that could add up to $4.7 million per year in revenue set aside solely for school capital projects.
The board also voted unanimously to transfer $30,000 of funds set aside for the now-defunct Caroline Recovery Center to 10-7 Farms, a nonprofit human services organization in the county.
