Virginia Microsoft has filed applications with federal and state regulators to build a new data center campus outside Gainesville in Prince William County, Virginia, adding to the growing concentration of cloud infrastructure along one of the most data center-dense corridors in the United States.

The Project and Its Location

The development, designated MNZ07 Wellington Data Center, is planned for 13490 University Boulevard, on the east side of University Boulevard, south of Interstate 66 and north of Wellington Road.

Microsoft has filed an application with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, covering the proposed construction. A separate application was filed with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in July.

The campus would consist of two one-story data center buildings and an on-site substation spread across 123 acres. Microsoft states in its application that the project is needed to address expanding customer demand for cloud platform services in the region.

Recently, Microsoft filed to add a 490-acre data center campus in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.

Land Acquisition and Cost

Microsoft acquired the 124-acre site in 2024 from local landowner Chuck Kuhn, paying USD 465.5 million for the parcel. The price reflects both the strategic value of the location in Northern Virginia's data center market and the scale of investment hyperscalers are committing to the region as demand for cloud and AI infrastructure continues to grow.

Environmental Impacts

The project would affect natural features on and around the site. According to the application, construction would impact 955 linear feet of stream channels and 1.95 acres of wetlands.

These impacts are among the factors driving the regulatory filings with both the Army Corps of Engineers and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

A Neighborhood of Hyperscale Neighbors

The Wellington site sits in an area that is rapidly becoming a significant hub for large-scale data center development. Immediately adjacent to Microsoft's parcel is a 117-acre site owned by Amazon, where the company is planning a campus of approximately 2.3 million square feet, referred to as Gainesville West and Gainesville East.

Google-linked Sharpless Enterprises is also planning a large data center campus in the vicinity. The land on which these projects are being developed has a prior history as a military facility previously operated by Atlantic Research Corporation.

Context Within Microsoft's Broader Infrastructure Push

The Prince William County filing adds to a series of major infrastructure commitments Microsoft has been making across multiple geographies.

The company recently committed USD 1 billion to cloud and AI infrastructure in Thailand, part of a broader pattern of investment in data center capacity driven by demand for cloud platform and artificial intelligence services.

Northern Virginia has long served as the epicenter of global data center development, and Prince William County in particular has seen intense activity as operators seek available land with access to power and fiber connectivity.

The clustering of Microsoft, Amazon, and Google-affiliated projects within close proximity of one another along the University Boulevard corridor underscores how competitive the race for suitable sites in the region has become.