Amazon drops data center plan on former George Washington University campus in Ashburn

Amazon dropping plans to build data centers on the former George Washington University campus in Ashburn. It is a major development for residents and elected officials who had been fighting the plan and hoping to avoid a lengthy legal battle. Fox 5's Melanie Allwick is live in Ashburn this morning with more details. Good morning. Good morning and this comes at the same time that Loudoun County is wrestling with some very consequential decisions about the future of data centers here and not long after the county attorney determined that Amazon could not build the data centers here under the old rules which did not require any special permits or approvals now Amazon bought the George Washington University Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn in February for more than 400 million dollars it had planned to build four data center buildings totaling more than 800,000 square feet and three parking garages electrical infrastructure would be needed to power all of it but then public opinion and policy changed under the new Potomac Promise Agreement announced by Board Chair Phyllis Randall, Amazon will donate 25 acres of the land to the county with the goal of developing a community arts center and indoor sports facility there. Amazon will also commit to rezoning the rest of the land for mixed use and residential. In addition, Randall said Amazon will not pursue legal action to put any data centers on the site. Now, the board of supervisors was poised to take action Tuesday night that would have paused new data center applications in the county for up to a year. A majority of supervisors are for it, but the chair pushed the vote back until November 17. The delay will give county staff more time to review the legality of the proposed legislation. Now, Amazon is also providing the county with $5 million for its housing trust fund, and the county says it will fast track the rezoning process so they can hopefully start getting that other development here underway relatively soon. Julia McKeon.