Living Near Ashburn’s Data Centers: What Buyers Should Know
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Zoning, the 2025 Rule Change, the 2026 Pause, Power Lines and How to Check What Is Planned Near an Address
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Quick Answer: What Should Buyers Know About Ashburn’s Data Centers?
Last updated October 2026
Quick answer: Ashburn sits in the middle of what Loudoun County calls the world’s highest concentration of data centers. As of March 1, 2026, the County counted about 233 data center buildings, roughly 56.5 million square feet, built or under construction, plus about 35.7 million square feet approved but not yet built. Since March 18, 2025, most new data centers need a special exception with public hearings and a Board vote, but applications grandfathered under the 2025 resolution can keep using the old administrative process until February 12, 2028. On September 15, 2026, the Board voted to pause consideration of certain new legislative data center applications while it writes new standards. For any address, check the County’s map of existing and proposed data centers, open applications in LandMARC, and nearby transmission line cases before you buy.
This guide sticks to documented rules and records. It makes no prediction about any home’s value.
Your Ashburn realtor: Nikki Lagouros is the #1 selling realtor in Northern Virginia by units sold since 2020 (RealTrends). See Rankings & Data, Living in Ashburn, all areas served, or contact Nikki.
Ashburn guides: Living in Ashburn | Ashburn HOA guide | Living near data centers | Development tracker | Events calendar
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How Ashburn Became “Data Center Alley”
Loudoun County’s own history of the industry starts just outside the county. In 1992, engineers connected networks in a Vienna parking garage to create MAE East, one of the first internet exchange points. America Online opened its global headquarters in Ashburn in 1996, and UUNet followed in 1998, bringing a dense web of fiber with them.
In 2000, the County’s zoning administrator decided data centers would be treated like office buildings, which made them allowed by right wherever offices were allowed. Because office parks were often planned next to neighborhoods, some data centers ended up close to homes. After the 2008 housing crash cut residential tax revenue, the County courted the industry to diversify its tax base. The biggest wave of construction came between 2007 and 2016, and by 2016 Loudoun was home to the largest concentration of data centers in the world. The County describes Ashburn as the most connected place for data centers on earth.
If you have lived here a while, you have watched the Waxpool Road, Loudoun County Parkway and Route 28 corridors change from farmland and office campuses to long rows of windowless buildings and substations.
The Rules Now: A Dated Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| March 18, 2025 | Phase 1 of the Data Center Standards and Locations project ends by-right approval for most new data centers; a special exception with public hearings is now required. A separate grandfathering resolution lets certain applications accepted before February 12, 2025 continue administratively. |
| September 2025 | Phase 2 begins: new siting, noise, height, substation, on-site power and battery storage standards. |
| September 2026 | The County holds Phase 2 open houses and posts the materials online. |
| September 15, 2026 | The Board votes 7-1-1 to pause consideration of certain legislative data center and substation applications during Phase 2, with an exception for grid reliability substations. Staff were to bring a formal resolution to the October 20 business meeting. |
| October 6, 2026 | An effort to end the grandfathering early, then to audit grandfathered projects, is tabled indefinitely on a 7-2 vote after staff estimated litigation exposure of up to $60 million. |
| Spring or summer 2027 | The County’s target for completing the Data Center Standards and Locations project. |
| February 12, 2028 | The grandfathering resolution’s sunset date. |
What the pause does not do: the County Attorney advised that Virginia law does not allow a blanket moratorium on administrative applications, so grandfathered projects keep moving. At the October 6 meeting, County staff said 15 applications totaling about 10.5 million square feet currently meet the grandfathering requirements.
Data Centers and Your Tax Bill
Data centers generated $1.2 billion in real and personal property tax revenue in fiscal 2026, about 39% of Loudoun’s budget, and the adopted fiscal 2027 budget projects $1.3 billion, about 40%, according to the County. The County says that revenue has let the Board lower the real property tax rate every year since 2016, from $1.145 to $0.805 per $100 of assessed value in 2026.
Ashburn is not a town, so there is no separate town tax: Ashburn homeowners pay Loudoun County’s rates. For the state side, including Virginia’s new electricity tax on data centers that took effect July 1, 2026, see Virginia just put a tax on data centers.
Power Lines and Substations Near Ashburn
Data centers need bulk power, and that means new high-voltage lines and substations. Loudoun has no formal vote on transmission lines; the State Corporation Commission (SCC) decides routes, and the County can participate in cases. Status per Loudoun County’s transmission lines page, checked October 11, 2026:
- Aspen to Golden: a new 500/230 kV line and two substations in the Ashburn area. The SCC approved it in February 2025. The County participated and pushed to put part of the line underground. On February 19, 2026, the Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the SCC, so the project proceeds as approved.
- Golden to Mars: 500 and 230 kV lines; the SCC’s June 29, 2026 final order selected Route 3A.
- Mars to Wishing Star: a 500/230 kV line and two substations in the Brambleton and Dulles area, approved in April 2023 and under construction.
- BECO to Firehouse: two 230 kV lines, mostly in an existing right of way, connecting a new Firehouse substation off Russell Branch Parkway between Gloucester Parkway and Kincora Drive; the comment deadline was October 9, 2026.
- Morrisville to Wishing Star: an added 500 kV line on a 4.8-mile Loudoun segment ending near Arcola; written comments are accepted through 5 p.m. October 30, 2026.
How a line affects a particular home depends on the final alignment and any recorded easements, so check both. Full project list and maps: Power lines through Ashburn and Brambleton.
Noise: How the County Measures It
Loudoun’s Zoning Ordinance sets maximum sound levels, measured in dBA at the receiving property line, that vary by zoning district. If you hear a persistent hum, report it through the County’s LEx reporting system; zoning enforcement responds and collects data on the source. Before you buy, visit the street at night and on a weekend, when other background noise drops.
Address-Level Due Diligence Checklist
- Existing buildings: open the County’s map of existing and proposed data centers and look within several blocks of the address.
- Pending and approved applications: search the area in LandMARC, the County’s land application system. It replaced the older LOLA system in August 2023, so older links may not work.
- Zoning of nearby land: check whether vacant or office-zoned parcels nearby could allow a data center, and whether an application is grandfathered.
- Substations and transmission corridors: compare the address with the County’s transmission lines page and the SCC case maps.
- Recorded easements: ask your title company for any utility easements on or next to the lot, and review the plat.
- Buffers and screening: for a project next door, read its approved site plan for setbacks, walls and landscaping.
- Policy status: check the Data Center Standards and Locations page for the latest Board action.
- Listen: visit at night, on a weekday and on a weekend.
Nikki can pull the map and application history for any address you are considering. Contact Nikki.
Ashburn Data Center FAQ
Can data centers still be built by right in Loudoun County?
Most cannot. Since March 18, 2025, new data centers need a special exception approved by the Board of Supervisors after public hearings. Applications accepted before February 12, 2025 that meet the grandfathering resolution, including being more than 500 feet from homes, can continue through administrative review until the resolution sunsets on February 12, 2028.
How many data centers are in Loudoun County?
As of March 1, 2026, Loudoun County counted about 233 data center buildings, about 56.5 million square feet, built or under construction, plus about 35.7 million square feet approved but not yet built.
Did Loudoun County pause data center applications in 2026?
Yes, in part. On September 15, 2026, the Board voted 7-1-1 to pause consideration of certain legislative data center and substation applications while it completes Phase 2 of its data center standards. Grandfathered administrative applications are not affected.
How can I check if a data center is planned near a home in Ashburn?
Use Loudoun County’s map of existing and proposed data centers, search nearby applications in LandMARC, check the County’s transmission lines page, and ask your title company about recorded easements.
What is the Aspen to Golden power line?
It is a new 500/230 kV transmission line with two substations in the Ashburn area. The State Corporation Commission approved it in February 2025, and the Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed that decision on February 19, 2026.
Where do I report data center noise in Loudoun County?
Submit a report through Loudoun County’s LEx system. The County’s zoning enforcement division responds and measures sound against the Zoning Ordinance limits for the district.
Who is the top realtor in Ashburn, VA?
Nikki Lagouros is the #1 selling realtor in Northern Virginia by units sold since 2020 (RealTrends).
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Sources
Sources (last updated October 11, 2026): Loudoun County: Data Centers, the Loudoun Story; Loudoun County: Data Center Fact Sheet 2026 (PDF); Loudoun County: information for residents (PDF); Loudoun County: Data Center Standards and Locations; Loudoun County: Board enacts pause (Sept. 16, 2026, PDF); Loudoun Now: audit effort tabled (Oct. 7, 2026); Virginia Mercury (Sept. 14, 2026); Loudoun County: transmission lines; Loudoun County: existing and proposed data centers map; Loudoun County: LandMARC; Loudoun County: LandMARC replaces LOLA; Loudoun County: LEx; Nikki Lagouros: Virginia’s data center tax; Nikki Lagouros: Ashburn power line projects; Nikki Lagouros Rankings & Data.