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Loudoun Now for July 13, 2023

Page 1

n LOUDOUN

6 | n LEESBURG

VOL. 8, NO. 34

10 | n EDUCATION

12 | n PUBLIC SAFETY

15 | n LEGAL NOTICES

We’ve got you covered. In the mail weekly. Online always at LoudounNow.com

25

JULY 13, 2023

Data Centers Pose Planning, Budget Puzzle BY RENSS GREENE

rgreene@loudounnow.com

As the county budget returns to pre-pandemic norms, and supervisors and planners enter the final phase of rewriting the zoning ordinance, one industry’s success continues to pose a tricky challenge: data centers. Through years of effort and billions of dollars of investment, Loudoun County has become home to the largest data center market on the planet. That has also meant huge influxes of tax revenue for the county government, mostly from the property tax on the computer equipment inside. The county’s fiscal year 2024 budget, which began July 1, anticipates almost $561 million in revenues just from that tax—just shy of the county government’s entire $588 million general fund, even before considering real estate taxes on the land beneath them. And that land is valuable. The top 10 real estate owners in Loudoun by value are all data center companies. Prices for some prime data center land now top $4 million an acre, pricing out other

PLANNING PUZZLE continues on page 33

Contributed/Danielle Nadler

The Ditka family of Leesburg dropping off the food they were able to collect through their neighborhood Snack Drive.

Community Campaign Stocks Up on School Snacks BY ALEXIS GUSTIN agustin@loudounnow.com

Summer break for some means no school, less busy routines, vacations, and long days at the pool. For others, it also means gearing up for the new school year

with supplies. Loudoun Education Foundation Executive Director Danielle Nadler said this time of year a lot of generous people in the community reach out to LEF about doing school supply drives to help schools with fewer resources.

She said they often get asked, “what are the biggest needs?” The answer may not be what you think. “The biggest need is snacks,” she said.

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SNACK FUNDRAISER continues on page 32

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