Leesburg Town Council has denied a rezoning application from Keane Enterprises for a proposed 165-acre mixed-use data center project in Oaklawn, Virginia.

According to town filings, the Loudoun County project would have included two data center buildings totaling 450,000 sq ft (41,806 sqm), 184 affordable housing units, and two parks.

As reported by the Loudoun Times, the proposal has now been denied, with the council citing that the project is incompatible with uses in the surrounding area, noise concerns, limited employment opportunities, and an undesirable change in the character of the existing area.

More than 25 residents spoke against the proposal at the hearing on January 27, 2025.

Previously, the project included a substation, though that was replaced with plans for a park to improve landscaping. Local resident Greg Gutierrez said of Keane Enterprises' landscaping proposal, “Lipstick on a pig is still a pig.”

A representative for Keane Enterprises, Molly Novotny, argued to no avail that the noise level at the property line would not exceed 50 dB. Yet, residents still voiced concerns about a constant “hum.”

Founded in 2007, Keane Enterprises is a real estate developer and service provider, historically focused on the Washington DC market. Among its many projects, it has recently built a mixed-use development in Oaklawn, featuring office space, residential space, and a production facility. Also in Leesburg, the company is building “Virginia Village,” a site comprising mixed-use retail, residential, and commercial offerings, as well as neighborhood parks.

Loudoun County has long been considered the data center capital of the world. The county hosts more than 30 million sq ft (2,787,091 sqm) of data centers. The state of Virginia has in recent years seen developments sprawl out into Fairfax County and Prince William County.

Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers drew up a series of bills to regulate data center developments in Virginia.