Data centers in Petersburg, Virginia: 4 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Petersburg has at least four data center projects in its pipeline, and in July 2026 several of its council members said they had learned of three of them from a newspaper. Richmond BizSense reported, from city documents, that NuVu Real Estate had site plan approval in February for a three-building, 300 megawatt, $1.1 billion campus on 75 acres at 2588 County Drive by Interstate 95; Wagner Properties had approval in April for three buildings on 73 acres at 1161 Wagner Road; and Menlo Digital, whose project council rezoned in 2023, had submitted a site plan, not yet approved, for four buildings on 74 acres at 2255 Jamestown Drive. NuVu's and Wagner's projects needed no council vote: in 2024 the city made data centers a by-right use in its light and heavy industrial districts, so projects on that land skip public hearings and council approval.

"I had no clue about any of this," said Ward 4 Councilman Charlie Cuthbert, who called for data centers to need special use permits instead. Ward 1's Marlow Jones said projects "slide under the cracks that we don't know until somebody posts it like this."

The one project that did come before council is the Warrenton Group's six-building campus on about 175 acres at 2233 Halifax Road, the former CSX Collier Yard property that the city owns; council rezoned it in 2025, and the zoning was amended in early 2026 to add three parcels for access and wetland mitigation, Richmond BizSense reported. On Feb. 17, 2026 council voted unanimously to rezone 176 acres around the Collier Yard to light industrial and sell the land to the Warrenton Group for $5,000 an acre, despite more than a dozen residents who spoke against it. "We will see, hear, and smell this industrial development," one resident told council. Neighbors also objected that buffer parcels rezoned to light industrial could open the door to more development if the data center ever closes. Ward 7 Councilman Arnold Westbrook Jr., whose ward includes the site, said in a written statement that he welcomes the interest from data center developers.

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.