Stack's 2,990-Acre Data Center Acquisition Signals Growth in Virginia's Tech Hub

Executive Summary

Stack Infrastructure's planned acquisition of 2,990 acres in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, marks one of the most consequential hyperscale site moves in the Mid-Atlantic in recent memory. The sheer scale of the land buy signals that Pittsylvania County is no longer a secondary market — it is actively positioning itself as a major node in the national data center build-out. Developers and landowners adjacent to the megasite stand to benefit from rising land values and infrastructure investment, while local utilities and zoning authorities face immediate pressure to keep pace. For InfraSale users, the takeaway is direct: powered land in Virginia's southern tier is repricing, and the window to act ahead of that curve is narrowing.

What Happened

Stack Infrastructure announced plans to purchase approximately 2,990 acres at a megasite in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The acquisition is intended to support a large-scale data center campus, adding significant computing and storage capacity to a region already attracting tech infrastructure investment. The site's scale — nearly 3,000 acres — places it firmly in hyperscale territory, suggesting a multi-phase development strategy rather than a single-facility build.

Matt Rowe, Pittsylvania County's economic development director, indicated that the project is positioned to move forward, signaling local government alignment with the development. Specific timelines, phasing details, and total capital commitment figures have not yet been publicly disclosed. Details on power procurement and interconnection agreements are still emerging.

Source: Virginia Business

Why This Matters

A nearly 3,000-acre data center land acquisition is not a routine transaction. At this scale, Stack is not buying a site — it is effectively staking a claim on a regional infrastructure corridor. That kind of commitment attracts follow-on investment: fiber providers, substation developers, construction contractors, and ancillary commercial real estate all tend to cluster around hyperscale anchors.

Pittsylvania County sits in Southside Virginia, a region that has historically trailed Northern Virginia's data center density. This deal changes that calculus. When a developer of Stack's caliber commits at this scale in a secondary market, it compresses the timeline for the entire region's infrastructure maturation.

Industry context: Hyperscale campuses of this magnitude typically require 500 MW or more of power capacity across full build-out phases, though no specific power figures for this project have been confirmed in the source. The demand signal alone is enough to shift utility planning horizons and interconnection queue priorities at the regional level.

Power & Interconnection Impact

A data center campus on nearly 3,000 acres will generate substantial demand for electrical capacity — demand that local utilities and the regional grid operator will need to plan for now, not at certificate of occupancy. Dominion Energy, which serves the majority of Virginia, will likely be the primary utility interface for this site. Assumption: given the scale of the campus, Stack will require transmission-level interconnection, not simply distribution-level service, which places pressure on PJM queue positioning and substation siting.

Securing power at this volume in Virginia's current grid environment is a competitive exercise. Northern Virginia data center operators have already strained Dominion's near-term capacity, and Southside Virginia could see similar dynamics if multiple hyperscale projects advance simultaneously. Early interconnection queue placement will be a determinative factor in Stack's phasing timeline.

Local substation infrastructure will almost certainly require expansion or new construction. For landowners and developers in adjacent parcels, that infrastructure investment creates secondary opportunities — battery storage siting, substation hosting agreements, and fiber routing corridors all become viable deal structures as the campus takes shape.

Land, Zoning & Permitting Impact

At 2,990 acres, this acquisition will test the limits of Pittsylvania County's existing zoning framework. Data center campuses of this scale typically require a combination of industrial and special-use zoning, and localities that haven't previously hosted hyperscale development often face a permitting learning curve. The involvement of the county's economic development director suggests the local government is already engaged and likely working to streamline that process.

Industry context: Virginia has a relatively mature data center permitting environment at the state level, including favorable tax incentives (the state's data center sales tax exemption is among the most competitive in the country). However, county-level implementation varies, and Pittsylvania County will need to formalize or adapt its zoning ordinances to accommodate the scale of this campus.

Environmental review will also be a factor. A site of nearly 3,000 acres will trigger state and potentially federal environmental assessment requirements, particularly around stormwater, wetlands, and traffic. Developers and investors should factor permitting lead times — likely 18 to 36 months for initial phases — into any adjacent land or infrastructure plays.

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Investment Takeaway

Land values in Pittsylvania County will reprice. Comparable acreage within a 10–20 mile radius of the megasite should be reassessed. Hyperscale anchors consistently lift surrounding land values for industrial and infrastructure uses.
Utility infrastructure plays become actionable. Battery storage, backup generation, and substation-adjacent land are all asset classes that benefit directly from a large-scale data center campus moving through permitting.
Permitting and entitlement risk is real but manageable. Virginia's state-level framework is favorable; the local permitting curve is the variable to watch. Investors with experience in county-level entitlement processes in Virginia have an edge.
Follow-on tenants and suppliers will cluster. Fiber, cooling infrastructure, and construction staging all require proximate land. Secondary site opportunities around the Stack campus merit active sourcing now.
Timeline risk is front-loaded. Interconnection queue positioning and zoning approvals will determine when Stack breaks ground. Investors in adjacent plays should build a 24–36 month buffer into underwriting.

InfraSale Market Angle

Pittsylvania County is transitioning from a speculative market to an active development corridor. For InfraSale's investor audience, the Stack acquisition is a leading indicator — not a lagging one. The land has been identified and a buyer is committed. What follows is a multi-year infrastructure build-out that creates dozens of adjacent transaction opportunities: utility easements, fiber routing, staging land, substation parcels, and workforce housing.

Developers and landowners already in the county should be documenting current entitlements and power access now. Investors sourcing new positions should prioritize parcels with transmission proximity and industrial zoning, or the realistic path to it. The window between announcement and price discovery in hyperscale-adjacent markets is typically short — often 12 to 18 months before land values fully reflect the anchor tenant's presence.

Monitoring Dominion Energy's capital planning filings and Pittsylvania County's board of supervisors agendas will be among the most useful early signals for timing follow-on transactions.

Market Signal

Location: Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Primary Issue: emerging data center investments
Infrastructure Theme: zoning and utility policy changes
Who Benefits: investors and developers looking for growth opportunities
Who's at Risk: local governments facing zoning challenges and utility providers managing increased demand
InfraSale Takeaway: Investors should closely monitor zoning and utility developments to seize opportunities in Pittsylvania County.

Take Action

Pittsylvania County is an active deal environment right now, and the Stack acquisition will accelerate that timeline considerably. Developers with powered land or infrastructure-adjacent parcels in Southside Virginia should establish market presence before price discovery closes the window. Connect with developers actively sourcing sites like this.

FAQ

What is the significance of Stack's acquisition in Pittsylvania County?

Stack's purchase of nearly 3,000 acres signals that Pittsylvania County is entering the hyperscale data center tier — a development that carries significant implications for local land values, utility infrastructure, and economic growth. For the broader Virginia market, it confirms that demand is pushing southward beyond the saturated Northern Virginia corridor.

How will this data center campus affect local zoning laws?

A campus of this scale will almost certainly require Pittsylvania County to revisit or expand its existing zoning framework to accommodate industrial-scale data center development. This may include new special-use permit categories, updated utility coordination ordinances, and revised environmental review procedures — all of which create both procedural risk and opportunity for developers already in the market.

What infrastructure improvements are expected with the new data center?

Assumption: A campus of this size will require significant transmission-level power capacity, likely new or expanded substation infrastructure, high-capacity fiber connectivity, and stormwater management systems across the site. The pace of those upgrades will largely depend on how quickly Stack advances through interconnection and permitting processes with Dominion Energy and local authorities.

How does this compare to data center development in Northern Virginia?

Northern Virginia — particularly Loudoun County — remains the densest data center market in the world, but power constraints and land scarcity are pushing hyperscale developers to evaluate alternative Virginia locations. Pittsylvania County's megasite offers acreage at a scale that is no longer available in Loudoun, making it a structurally different but complementary market.

What should adjacent landowners do now?

Landowners within a reasonable proximity to the Stack megasite should document current entitlements, assess transmission access, and consider engaging an infrastructure broker or site consultant before the market fully prices in the Stack anchor. Industry context: the 12–18 months following a hyperscale announcement typically represent the highest-leverage window for adjacent transactions.