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The Data Center Divide

Sussex County

Pro-Data Center Policies

Sussex County approved a data center on about 2,015 acres and expanded a Technology Zone to four related parcels; an enacted measure sets equipment taxes at $1.25 per $100 assessed value, with no specific operating restrictions described.

Incentives

Grants and cash rebatesFee waivers

Extends Technology Zone incentives to four additional parcels for qualifying businesses at Project 460: 100% rebates for years 1–5 and 75% for years 6–10 on qualifying business personal-property and machinery-and-tools taxes, plus development, building and zoning fee waivers. Taxes must first be paid; these are cash rebates, not reduced statutory rates.

Sussex County Ordinance #26-01 — Technology Zone Boundary Expansion for Project 460 (2026)
Tax benefits

To incentivize economic development, the draft creates a separate tax class for data-center computer equipment and peripherals at $1.25 per $100 of assessed value.

Sussex County, Virginia Draft Ordinance — Separate Personal-Property Tax Classification and Rate for Data-Center Equipment (2026)

current law · County measure
This ordinance expands the Sussex County Technology Zone to include parcels associated with Project 460, a proposed data-center development, so that the project site can receive the zone’s local incentives.Sussex County Ordinance #26-01 — Technology Zone Boundary Expansion for Project 460 (2026)

What this means

The proposal would set data-center computer equipment taxes at $1.25 per $100 of assessed value, a financial incentive for building or operating data centers. It adds no data-center-specific restrictions or requirements.

People behind it

  • Economic Development Director who presented the proposed Technology Zone boundary adjustment and requested that the Board hold a public hearing.

  • Governing body that proposed, considered, and approved the Technology Zone boundary adjustment and corresponding ordinance amendment.

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements5

  • Data-center computer equipment and peripherals are subject to a local tangible personal property tax of $1.25 per $100 of assessed value.

  • The separate tax classification applies only to facilities meeting the ordinance’s data-center definition, including facilities primarily providing digital-data storage, management, or processing and housing specified systems, including electrical-power and cooling equipment managing at least one megawatt of capacity.

  • Technology-zone incentives are geographically limited to the parcels listed in the ordinance; parcels outside the designated zone are not included in the zone boundaries.

  • Expanding the Technology Zone requires a public hearing and an amendment to the existing Technology Zone ordinance.

  • Establishing the separate business-personal-property classification for data centers requires a public hearing and an ordinance amendment.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions2

  • Expands the Technology Zone to parcels 7-A-23, 7-A-36, 8-A-5, and 8-A-6, allowing qualifying technology businesses on those parcels to access the existing zone incentives and regulatory flexibility.

  • Creates a separate tax class for computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center and sets the local tangible personal-property tax rate for that class at $1.25 per $100 of assessed value.

Sources

current law · County project: The proposed data center site on approximately 2,015 acres, comprising the identified tax parcels along General Mahone Highway (Route 460) between Waverly and Cabin Point Road
Approval is reported in later county minutes, but the exact adoption date, vote and final conditions are unverified.Sussex County Special Use Permit #2025-02 — Data Center and Accessory Uses (Sussex Tech, LLC)

What this means

The measure would allow a data center on about 2,015 acres where that use was not previously permitted, and the county approved adding four related parcels to its Technology Zone so incentives could cover the whole site (data center use on approximately 2,015 acres, four parcels added to the Technology Zone). These are meaningful, site-specific benefits, though the sources do not detail the incentive amounts or new operating rules.

People behind it

  • Applicant

  • Public hearing body

Restrictions & requirementsHide restrictions & requirements1

  • No project-specific restrictions verified; final approved permit conditions were unavailable. This is not a finding that no conditions exist.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1

  • Reported site-specific approval: later minutes refer to the approved Special Use Permit for Project 460. The application requests a data center along with accessory uses. Exact approved terms are unverified.

Sources

Specific to Sussex County only.

pending · County measure
This proposed ordinance would create a separate tangible-personal-property class for computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center and impose a local tax rate of $1.25 per $100 of assessed value.Sussex County, Virginia Draft Ordinance — Separate Personal-Property Tax Classification and Rate for Data-Center Equipment (2026)

People behind it

  • Proposed and authorized the ordinance establishing a separate personal-property tax classification and rate for computer equipment and peripherals used in data centers.

Benefits & exceptionsHide benefits & exceptions1

  • Creates a separate tangible personal property tax class for computer equipment and peripherals used in a data center and sets the Sussex County tax levy for that class at $1.25 per $100 of assessed value. Eligibility depends on the equipment being used in a qualifying data center, defined as a facility primarily providing digital-data storage, management, or processing and housing specified computer, network, power, cooling, communications, environmental, fire-protection, or security systems; the definition includes systems supporting at least one megawatt of electrical capacity and cooling.

Sources

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