Capital One recently announced plans to invest $150 million to establish a new data center in Chesterfield County, bringing 50 new jobs to the area. Virginia successfully competed against Texas for this project.

Chesterfield County was selected due to its proximity to Capital One’s existing operations in the Greater Richmond area. The Fortune 500 company has successfully operated in Virginia for more than two decades.

Central Virginia is seeing a growing cluster of data centers due its abundant power, advanced fiber network, and low risk of natural disasters. In addition, the strong partnership between local officials and utility providers allows deals such as this to be put together quickly.

Virginia is fast becoming a popular place for data centers across the Commonwealth. Data processing was the dominant sector for investment in 2011 at $960 million, accounting for almost half of the nonmanufacturing investment.

The Commonwealth not only offers companies low electricity rates below the national average; it maintains a highly qualified workforce to support the sector, with the highest concentration of high-tech workers according to Cyberstates 2011. In addition, the Retail Sales and Use Tax Exemption provides a competitive cost advantage on qualified equipment for data centers.

To learn more about Virginia’s capabilities and why companies have invested more than $4.4 billion in the Commonwealth’s data center industry over the past ten years, click here.

Congratulations to Loudoun County for winning another expansion from data center provider, Digital Realty. The company officially broke ground on its fourth building in what’s known as “Data Center Alley” in Loudoun County, Va.

The two-story, 214,000-square-foot building will house 10 data centers and bring an $80 million investment along with 180 temporary positions and 12 full-time jobs to the area. With more than 50 percent of the world’s internet traffic flowing through Loudoun County each day, the region certainly has become a hub for leading data center operations. Add to that an energy rate 28 percent below the national average and 10 million square feet of data center capacity, and one can easily see why data centers are flocking to Virginia.

Data processing was actually the dominant sector across the Commonwealth in 2011, accounting for more than $960 million in capital investment and almost half of the nonmanufacturing investment. Virginia is poised to continue its growth in the sector as it has both the highest concentration of high-tech workers in the nation and the advanced telecom infrastructure across the Commonwealth to support the industry.

Virginia data centers claimed three of the top 10 spots in Southern Business & Development’s 2011 Ten Best Data Center Sites in the South list. In addition, Bristol, Va., was touted in the study Broadband at the Speed of Light as one of the first municipalities in the nation to build a citywide Fiber-To-The-Home network.

To learn why leading companies have invested more than $4.4 billion in Virginia data centers over the last ten years, click here.

State, local and company officials celebrated the opening of Digital Realty’s newest building at the groundbreaking ceremony in Loudoun County.

Information technology companies that may have glanced at Virginia in the past may want to take a harder look. Virginia now offers a great advantage for IT and the growing cluster of data centers already located throughout the Commonwealth. The Virginia General Assembly recently unanimously passed a bill that enables companies to receive an exemption from the Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax for computer equipment purchased or leased for use in a data center.

There are a few stipulations, of course. The equipment must be purchased or leased between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2020. The data center must be located in a Virginia locality and generate at least $150 million in capital investment after July 1, 2009. Last but not least, at least 50 new jobs must be created that pay one and one half times the prevailing average wage in the locality.

This legislation has already proven to be a valuable tool in recruiting and retaining existing data centers. VEDP issued a press release announcing Virginia’s new advantage to industry pubs that generated immediate inquiries.

Moments after the release was sent, Data Center Knowledge headlined the news on its Web site: http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/05/13/virginia-passes-data-center-tax-incentives/. And the phone lines in VEDP’s Business Development Division received multiple calls from companies that read the release. IT and data centers are definitely a strong growth sector of Virginia’s economy. We look forward to continuing to look for ways that assist with financial efficiencies and operational savings for these businesses. 

For more information about how VEDP can assist your company, visit us at YesVirginia.org or call (804) 545-5600.