Undeveloped site on Route 50 could become a data center or warehouse

One of two options — a data center or a warehouse — is proposed for a nearly 79-acre parcel in Chantilly on what used to be called Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway.

The property owner is seeking Fairfax County’s permission to rezone a nearly 5.4-acre portion of the property for a data center or warehouse, according to an Oct. 3 application. The project is coined Chantilly Premier.

“The proposed development would encourage business and commercial endeavors in the area and add to the diverse industrial and commercial tax base surrounding Dulles Airport,” the application says.

Identified as PDCREF2 Chantilly LLC, the applicant says it’s open to dedicating the unused portion of the massive, undeveloped property — known as parcel six — to the county for preservation.

The site is currently zoned for two uses: highway commercial and general industrial. It’s located outside of the floodplain area roughly 1,200 feet west of Route 50’s intersection with Stonecroft Blvd.

The proposal would rezone most of the area that is not a floodplain for industrial uses in order to develop a 402,000-square-foot data center or a 150,000-square-foot warehouse.

Roughly 92% of parcel six will remain undisturbed.

The data center would include 50 parking spaces and two loading spaces. The building would be mostly screened from view from the highway and neighboring properties, according to the application.

The warehouse option is less intense, allowing 164 parking spaces and 30 loading spaces. It would also be screened mostly from view.

The application does not favor one option of the other, saying either use would “add to the diversity of industrial uses in the area and complement the automobile oriented uses to the east.”

The county has not yet accepted the application for review. It is in the initial planning phases.