Developer files pre-application for 871-acre Goochland data center campus

A Denver-based developer has filed a pre-application for an 871-acre data center campus in eastern Goochland, putting a seven-building technology park on specific land instead of leaving the county’s tech debate at the level of broad policy. The filing from VALCO Goochland, LLC, an affiliate of Tract, calls the project Tuckahoe Technology Park and seeks a conditional use permit, a step that does not authorize construction.

That distinction matters for residents near West Creek and along the county’s eastern growth corridor. The pre-application signals that the project is entering Goochland’s review process, but it still must move through county scrutiny, public meetings, the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors before any final decision. The county can also require technical studies before a vote, which means the project’s traffic counts, utility demand and site impacts are still ahead of the public.

The proposal lands inside Goochland’s Technology Overlay District, which the county adopted in November 2025 to steer high-tech development toward the eastern part of the county while adding rules meant to protect nearby residential properties. That framework was designed to balance growth with buffers and oversight, and the Tract filing is now the first large-scale test of how that balance will work on the ground.

For Goochland, the stakes are as practical as they are political. An 871-acre campus would bring a large industrial and infrastructure footprint, with likely implications for roads, electric capacity, water demand, noise and the tax base. It would also raise questions about nearby land use, especially in a part of the county already shaped by major corporate investment and continuing pressure for more development.

The scale alone makes the project a county-shaping issue, not a routine permit request. Residents who drive through the eastern corridor, live near the overlay district or follow county growth planning will want to watch how the application evolves, what studies the county demands and whether local leaders decide the area can absorb another major data center complex. With the developer not yet publicly commenting, the next phase of the process will likely define how much more high-tech industrial growth Goochland is willing to take on.