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Data Center Watch Report · ZIP 23805

Petersburg (Prince George side)

Prince George

Under constructionZIP 58.0% Blackpop 21,385

Under construction / Approved (staff-level site-plan approvals) + Proposed — a 4-project Petersburg pipeline on the Prince George–facing corridor

Researched: 2026-08-02 · Lead source: Brockovich AI Data Center community map (1 resident report, 2026-07-24) · ZIP demographics: 58.0% Black, pop 21,385 (Census ACS 2023) · County: Prince George (~40% Black per Census ACS, approx.) Status: Under construction / Approved (staff-level site-plan approvals) + Proposed — a 4-project Petersburg pipeline on the Prince George–facing corridor

This report is research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice.

0. Snapshot

ZIP 23805 covers southeastern Petersburg and the Prince George County side of the Tri-Cities. In July 2026, documents surfaced (via Richmond BizSense) revealing that at least four data-center campuses are moving through Petersburg's pipeline along the I-95 / County Drive (US-460) / Halifax Road corridor — the eastern/southeastern edge of the city facing the Prince George County line. Several already have staff-level site-plan approval, obtained quietly after Petersburg made data centers a by-right use in industrial zones in 2024. City Council members told BizSense they were "in the dark." This is a fast-moving, low-visibility buildout in a majority-Black area.

Three separate governments — do not confuse them:

  • City of Petersburg (independent city) — where the four pipeline projects physically sit.
  • Prince George County, VA — separate county government east of Petersburg (Crosspointe, Disputanta, Route 460). NOT the same as Prince George's County, Maryland.
  • ZIP 23805 straddles the City of Petersburg (majority-Black) and adjoining Prince George County. Match the site to the right government before you call (see §8).

1. The Facility & Where It Sits

Petersburg pipeline (City of Petersburg, SE/eastern industrial corridor near the Prince George line): Per BizSense/DCD/WTVR (July 2026):

  • NuVu — three buildings, est. ~$1.1 billion, ~75-acre site at 2588 County Drive, between I-95 and County Drive (between Menlo to the north and Wagner to the south). Staff-level site-plan approval secured (reported approval Feb 2026).
  • Menlo Digital (Menlo Equities) — four buildings, 74 acres, 2255 Jamestown Drive. Site plan submitted; not yet fully approved at time of reporting. Menlo's project was first approved by City Council in 2023.
  • Wagner Properties (Prince George–based developer) — three buildings, 73 acres, 1161 Wagner Road, west of Wagner Road alongside railroad tracks. Staff-level site-plan approval secured (reported April 2026).
  • Warrenton Group — six buildings, 175 acres, 2233 Halifax Road. Site plan amended and enlarged in Feb 2026.

Prince George County proper (east of Petersburg): The county markets large tracts with existing/accessible power — e.g., the Crosspointe logistics area near Disputanta / Route 460. Reporting notes Prince George has "excess vacant land that either has electric infrastructure for data centers, or is easy to connect." No specific approved Prince George County data-center campus was confirmed in public sources as of 2026-08-02 — treat the county as an active target/host of spillover, and verify current applications with the county Planning office (§8).

Where it sits: the Petersburg corridor is industrial land near I-95 and the rail line on the city's south/east side — but Petersburg is ~76% Black and this corridor abuts residential neighborhoods and the county line. This is squarely a majority-Black siting.

2. Public Hearings & Notices

  • By-right zoning (City of Petersburg, 2024): the city amended its zoning code in 2024 to allow data centers as a by-right use in industrial-zoned districts. By-right means projects can advance via staff-level site-plan approval without a City Council vote or a public hearing — which is why NuVu and Wagner cleared review with little public notice.
  • Council caught off guard (July 29, 2026): Petersburg council members publicly said they were unaware of the pipeline until the BizSense report ("I had no clue"), raising oversight and transparency questions. Expect council pressure to revisit the by-right rule — confirm any pending ordinance changes with the Clerk of Council (§8).
  • Prince George County: rezonings/special-use permits there DO go before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors with public hearings. Check the county BoardDocs and agenda center for any data-center items (§8).

3. Power

  • Serving utility: Dominion Energy Virginia. Petersburg projects are described as connecting to Dominion via new substations (some marketed with "clean energy" claims — verify the actual generation mix; Virginia's grid is gas- and nuclear-heavy).
  • Who pays — statewide: the Virginia SCC's 2025 Dominion biennial review created a new GS-5 rate class for loads ≥25 MW (load factor >75%), effective Jan 1, 2027, requiring 14-year contracts and minimum payments (85% of contracted distribution/transmission demand, 60% of generation demand) so data centers cover the cost they cause. SCC allowed $565.7M (2026) and $209.9M (2027) base-rate increases, below Dominion's requests, and ordered future large-load cost-allocation proposals. (Inside Climate News; SELC; SCC.)
  • State study: JLARC (Dec 9, 2024) projected Virginia power demand could double within ~10 years, driven by data centers; typical new facilities draw 100–300 MW.

4. Water & Drought

  • Water supply: the Petersburg/Prince George area is served from the Appomattox River system (Lake Chesdin / Appomattox River Water Authority). Data-center cooling water demand should be a central question at every hearing — confirm gallons/day per project and the source in the site-plan/utility documents.
  • Drought (2026): As of July 28, 2026, ~68% of Virginia was under drought conditions with statewide drought watch/warning advisories. Prince George (and Dinwiddie) fall in the Chowan evaluation region, under drought watch/warning; Richmond issued its first voluntary conservation advisory since 2002 on July 1, 2026. (Virginia DEQ; U.S. Drought Monitor.)

5. Population & Who Lives Here

ZIP 23805 is 58.0% Black, pop 21,385 (Census ACS 2023). It spans the southern/eastern City of Petersburg — one of Virginia's most heavily Black cities (~76% Black) and among its lower-income, historically disinvested communities — and adjoining Prince George County (~40% Black). Petersburg's fiscal fragility (it faced a state-assisted financial recovery in the late 2010s) is part of why by-right data-center revenue is attractive to the city, and part of why residents worry the deals are moving faster than public scrutiny.

6. Money — Abatements, Incentives, Jobs

  • Revenue motive: Petersburg's by-right approach is aimed at capturing tax base quickly. NuVu alone is pitched at ~$1.1B in investment. Specific abatement/PILOT terms, machinery & tools tax rates, and written job commitments were not confirmed in public sources as of 2026-08-02 — request the site-plan packets and any performance/EDA agreements from the city (§8). Data centers typically deliver large assessed value but few permanent jobs.
  • Prince George County incentives (if any project lands there) would run through the county EDA/Board of Supervisors — verify separately.

7. Community Reaction & News Coverage

  • Local outlets: Richmond BizSense (broke the pipeline story, July 21 & 29, 2026), WTVR CBS 6 (Tri-Cities), The Progress-Index (Petersburg), Data Center Dynamics, Cardinal News, Virginia Mercury.
  • Reaction: the dominant early reaction has been about process and transparency — council members blindsided by the scale of by-right approvals — alongside familiar concerns about water, power, and neighborhood proximity. Organized opposition was less visible here than in Dinwiddie (see the 23803 report) as of this date.

8. Find Out For Yourself

For the four pipeline projects → City of Petersburg (independent city):

  • Planning & Zoning / Clerk of Council: City Hall, 135 N. Union St., Petersburg, VA 23803. Planning & Zoning (804) 733-2308. Clerk of Council: 135 N. Union St., Suite 210. (Source: petersburg-va.org Contact/Planning pages.)
  • Ask for: the NuVu (2588 County Drive), Menlo (2255 Jamestown Drive), Wagner (1161 Wagner Road), and Warrenton (2233 Halifax Road) site-plan files, and the 2024 by-right zoning ordinance text and any amendment now pending.

For Prince George County sites → Prince George County, VA (NOT MD, NOT the City):

Questions worth asking when you call:

  1. Which of the four Petersburg projects are approved, and did any get a public hearing or only staff-level (by-right) sign-off?
  2. Is City Council moving to change the 2024 by-right ordinance — and can residents comment?
  3. How many gallons/day will each campus draw from the Appomattox/Lake Chesdin system, and how does that square with the 2026 drought advisory?
  4. What Dominion substation/transmission is being built, and will any of that cost land on local ratepayers rather than the GS-5 data-center class?
  5. What are the exact assessed-value, tax-rate, and permanent-jobs numbers in writing — not construction jobs?
  6. Are any of these campuses within Prince George County's jurisdiction, and if so, what is the Board of Supervisors' schedule and case number?

9. If You're Thinking About Moving Here

  • Process risk: the biggest near-term issue is that projects here can advance without a public vote (by-right). If you buy near the SE Petersburg / County Drive / Halifax Road corridor, a data center could be approved next door with little notice. Check the exact parcel's zoning and any active site plan before committing.
  • Water/power: the region is in active drought and on a strained Dominion grid; cooling-water demand from four campuses is unresolved.
  • Noise/light/traffic: industrial-corridor siting near I-95 and rail; verify buffers and setbacks in each site plan, and visit at night.
  • What's unresolved: whether Petersburg tightens its by-right rule, whether Prince George County lands its own campuses, and the real (not promised) tax and jobs figures.

Not investment or real-estate advice — verify current filings yourself (§8).

10. Sources

All accessed 2026-08-02:

Lead source: resident reports on the Brockovich AI Data Center community map, then independently verified against public records. Research, not legal, financial, real-estate, or investment advice. Some resident-reported pins remain uncorroborated and are labeled as such above.