Sites slated for mystery data center projects in Chesterfield sell for nearly $60M

A proposed data center project planned at Upper Magnolia Green moved forward with the recent acquisition of the project site, which consists of most of Tract A and part of Tract B shown on the map. (County documents)

Entities involved in plans to build proposed data center campuses in western Chesterfield have dropped tens of millions of dollars in recent days to secure the project sites.

More than 1,200 acres between the two sites, one near Moseley and the one near Westchester Commons, have changed hands for a combined total of about $60 million in multiple transactions that closed in late June, according to Chesterfield courthouse records.

The buyers were Skyward Holdings and Aeris Investments, which are LLCs affiliated with code-named projects to build data center facilities on the sites. Neither Aeris nor Skyward could immediately be linked to any specific data center development firms, and there hasn’t been a public announcement yet regarding who would operate the data centers at the sites. It’s not clear whether the LLCs are tied to the same company or different firms.

Skyward Holdings secured nearly 890 acres at 4200 Moseley Road and multiple other properties for $31 million. The land has an assessed value of about $711,000.

The company bought the land largely from private landowners, including Carnes W S Inc., Rosenberger Land LLC, Horner Investments LLC and C.A.H. Investments LLC. The Chesterfield Economic Development Authority also sold 10 acres at 4310 Mount Hermon Road to Skyward as part of the assemblage.

Skyward’s purchases represent the majority of the land rezoned in the spring for a data center development, which is being called Project Skye, on the northern edge of the planned Upper Magnolia Green technology park property near Moseley.

Skyward’s newly acquired land is most of the zoning case’s Tract A area, as well as the northern part of Tract B. Though previously weighed as part of the acquisition, a 55-acre portion on the eastern side of Tract A that is owned by the EDA ultimately wasn’t sold to Skyward as of last week.

Tract A is restricted to data centers and related accessory uses, while Tract B is limited to industrial uses allowed under the 2022 zoning of western Upper Magnolia Green, which, in addition to data centers, includes offices, labs, pharmaceutical products manufacturing and R&D facilities.

Aeris Investments secured the Watkins Centre South site near Westchester Commons for a data center project.

Near Westchester Commons, Aeris Investments dropped about $29 million to buy about 340 acres for what’s known as Project Loch at the Watkins Centre South property, which was also rezoned for data center development in the spring. The land at 750 Watkins Centre Parkway and other parcels has an assessed value of about $741,000.

The sellers in the deals were Watkins Land LLC, which is tied to former Virginia senator John Watkins, as well as Woodville Partnership and Watkins Hughey LLC.

County officials previously shared that the EDA had planned to buy both project sites and then turn around and sell them to Skyward and Aeris, respectively, but it appears that approach ultimately wasn’t pursued. The deals closed across several days in late June and were recorded with the county last week.

Both LLCs are registered to addresses in Delaware and list Michael Montfort as the manager of each, per state filings. It’s unclear exactly how Montfort is involved in the projects.

The acquisition of the sites come as the latest step forward in what’s been billed as massive economic development projects in western Chesterfield.

Last month, the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors approved fixed tax agreements to incentivize the data center developments planned for the sites. The agreements lock in the county’s data center tax rate for the projects at the current 24 cents per $100 of assessed value for a 30-year period.

The projects are expected to be multibillion-dollar developments, Deputy Economic Development Director Jake Elder told county supervisors at their June meeting. He didn’t share details of the projects, such as square footage or number of buildings planned, in remarks made to the board ahead of their votes to approve the incentive agreements. At the meeting, county supervisors said they couldn’t divulge details of the projects due to a non-disclosure agreement.

Both the Skyward and Aeris sites were rezoned under EDA-initiated applications in May. Both projects are subject to noise and water usage limits and also feature road improvements, which were made requirements of the projects as part of their zoning approvals.

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