Nevill emails w/local Architect firm pointing out data center damages

Photographs by Alex Kent for WSJ Construction at a data site near Manassas VA

Talking Points Sheet: Data Centers vs. Housing in Northern Virginia
Article Source

Big Tech Is Buying Up America’s Land—and Home Builders Can’t Compete
Author: Will Parker
Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Date: February 17, 2026
Link: https://www.wsj.com  (subscription required)

1. Core Issue

The rapid expansion of data centers—driven by companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—is consuming land that would otherwise support housing, worsening affordability and supply shortages.

2. Key Facts to Highlight
   Data Centers Are Outbidding Home Builders Tech companies are paying unprecedented prices for land—sometimes 10–20× what housing developers can justify. Example: Amazon paid $700M for land originally bought for just over $50M.

Housing Supply Is Being Squeezed

Northern Virginia already faces a shortage of 75,000+ homes.

Between 2022–2024, data‑center development grew 50% more than the previous nine years combined.

Land Prices Have Exploded

Some parcels that once sold for tens of thousands per acre now exceed $3 million per acre.

Home builders say there is “no possible way” to make housing financially viable at those prices.

3. Community Impacts
   Noise, Visual Impact, and Quality of Life

Residents report:

Constant low‑frequency hum
Massive industrial buildings replacing open land
Loss of community character

Electricity Costs and Grid Strain

Data centers consume enormous power, raising fears that local electricity rates will rise for everyone.
Construction Labor Shortages

Data‑center projects are pulling:

Electricians
Concrete crews
Skilled trades

…away from home‑building projects.

4. Political Dynamics
   Shift in Local Leadership Some officials who once supported data centers now face backlash. Voters increasingly prefer housing development over more server farms.

Loudoun County now requires board approval for all new data centers.

Proposed legislation would restrict data centers to industrial‑zoned land only.

5. Economic Considerations
   Short‑Term Revenue vs. Long‑Term Community Needs Data centers generate significant property tax revenue. But they also: Consume scarce land Raise infrastructure costs Crowd out housing Increase long‑term energy demand

Financing Pressures

A Bridgewater report warns that massive AI‑driven data‑center investment could raise the cost of capital for other industries, including residential construction.

6. “You basically have data centers outbidding residential developers.”

7. “We need homes, not just server farms.”
8. “The land rush for data centers is reshaping our region faster than policy can keep up.”
9. “Housing affordability is collapsing. Zoning decisions must prioritize residents over data‑center speculation.”