Winchester Gateway LLC:
What Frederick County Residents Need to Know
A 160 MW data center campus proposed for 71.85 acres near the Second Battle of Kernstown battlefield. The Historic Resources Advisory Board and the Planning Commission both recommended denial. The Board of Supervisors makes the final call on October 28.
Unlike the Virginia Technology Park application, this is not a rezoning. The parcel was already rezoned to M1 Light Industrial in 2023. Winchester Gateway LLC is asking for a Conditional Use Permit to build a data center campus on that land. The CUP process gives the county more targeted review authority, but the Board of Supervisors still makes the final binding decision.
Frederick County's Historic Resources Advisory Board voted 7 to 1 to recommend denial on April 17, 2026, citing unresolved battlefield visibility, unanswered water disposal questions, and incomplete archaeological work. The applicant withdrew from a July 1 Planning Commission hearing to address power infrastructure, building height, screening, and low-frequency noise. The Commission finally heard the application on September 2, 2026, and recommended denial. The Board of Supervisors hears it on October 28, 2026, at 6 p.m.
The application proposes three data center buildings, each capped at 60 feet tall, not including mechanical equipment on the roof. A fourth structure, an electrical substation estimated at 45 feet tall, would be built adjacent to Route 37.
The site plan includes a stormwater management pond on the eastern edge of the parcel. Multiple delineated wetlands are present on the property (labeled BC, DE, FG, and HI in the site plans), with proposed buildings placed in close proximity to several of them.
The parcel is zoned M1 Light Industrial following the 2023 rezoning. The applicant uses this as an argument that industrial development is already approved in principle. However, a Conditional Use Permit is a separate approval that allows the county to evaluate the specific proposed use on its own merits. The CUP can be denied even on M1-zoned land, and the Board of Supervisors has previously done exactly that for data center proposals in this corridor.
The proposed maximum electrical draw is 160 MW. The site connects to existing 138kV power lines that already cross the property. The applicant states it is working with local cooperatives and First Energy to confirm available supply from those lines.
A new on-site substation will be built entirely at Winchester Gateway's cost, adjacent to Route 37, at an estimated height of 45 feet.
No grid impact analysis has been submitted with this application. The application states the applicant is still working to confirm power supply availability. The county is being asked to approve a 160 MW facility before the basic question of whether the grid can reliably serve it has been answered.
The applicant claims the campus will use a closed-loop or air-cooled system and estimates water use at a maximum of 35,000 gallons per day. The application itself acknowledges this figure "will fluctuate" seasonally and can be exceeded. The 35,000 GPD number is an annual average, not a hard cap.
Contaminated cooling water would need to be removed from the site by a third-party contractor. At the HRAB hearing, the applicant's engineer acknowledged he was not sure how that disposal would actually be handled. This is an unresolved operational question that was submitted as a resolved one.
Frederick County and the City of Winchester share the same water source: the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, processed through the Percy D. Miller Water Treatment Plant near Middletown. Winchester's Public Services Director Perry Eisenach said the city "would need to know those details" before assessing impact, meaning the applicant has not provided enough information for even basic water impact review.
The water disposal method for contaminated cooling water remains unresolved. This is not a minor detail. Cooling water from data centers can carry biocides, scale inhibitors, and corrosion control chemicals. A third-party removal plan that hasn't been specified is not a plan.
Noise
The applicant's own noise model (Salas O'Brien, November 2025) projects 55 to 56 dB(A) along Apple Valley Road during normal operations and generator testing. Frederick County's noise ordinance limits are 65 dB(A) daytime and 60 dB(A) nighttime at the property line.
Generator testing is restricted to weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. A certified noise study is required 12 months after the first certificate of occupancy is issued, and then every five years.
The noise projections are based on the applicant's own consultant modeling, not an independent third-party study. The post-occupancy noise study requirement means the first enforceable measurement comes after the campus is already built and operational.
Traffic
The applicant claims the data center would generate 1,925 fewer daily vehicle trips than the by-right industrial use allowed under M1 zoning, including 172 fewer AM peak-hour trips (a claimed 63% reduction) and 240 fewer PM peak-hour trips (a claimed 87% reduction).
These comparisons are made against the hypothetical maximum-buildout industrial use of the parcel, not against current reality. The parcel is undeveloped. Comparing a data center to a maximum-capacity industrial park is a framing choice, not a neutral measurement.
Apple Valley Road widening was already a proffered commitment from the 2023 rezoning. The applicant is taking credit for a road improvement that was a condition of a prior approval, not a new concession offered with this CUP.
All figures below come from an economic analysis commissioned and paid for by the applicant (MuniCap, Inc.). No independent review has been conducted. These figures have not been verified by the county or any neutral third party.
The revenue breakdown per the MuniCap report is $16.48 million per year in Business Personal Property Tax (BPP) plus $2.35 million in Real Property Tax. BPP is assessed on equipment including servers and cooling systems. As that equipment depreciates, so does the BPP revenue. The 30-year $635 million figure assumes sustained equipment value that may not materialize.
The applicant also claims 4,678 construction-phase FTE jobs generating $441 million in labor income. Construction-phase employment is temporary by definition.
Frederick County's FY2027 structural budget shortfall is $41.3 million. Even if the applicant's best-case revenue figures are accurate, this single project does not close the county's fiscal gap. The 155 permanent jobs across an 805,000 sq ft, 160 MW campus is a thin return relative to the infrastructure demands and environmental commitments the project would place on the county.
The Battlefield
The site falls within the National Register-eligible Kernstown Battlefield (034-0007), whose boundary was expanded to include this parcel in 2011. The Second Battle of Kernstown in 1864 was fought on and around this land.
The Kernstown Battlefield Association (KBA) preserves Sandy Ridge and Pritchard's Hill, both immediately to the east at higher elevation. County Planning Director Wyatt Pearson confirmed at the HRAB hearing: "A person standing on Pritchard's Hill may still be able to see over the top of the trees to see the top of the building."
HRAB specifically requested a viewshed analysis from Sandy Ridge. The applicant did not provide it. If the screening actually worked, the analysis would support the project. The refusal to provide it is telling.
A 200-foot landscape buffer does not screen a 60-foot building from elevated vantage points to the east. The applicant's claim that the buffer minimizes visual impact has not been supported by the analysis HRAB asked for.
Archaeological Record
A Phase I Archaeological Survey (The Ottery Group, August 2023) excavated 1,580 shovel test pits across the property and identified five archaeological sites (44FK1076 through 44FK1080). Phase II investigation was recommended for two of them:
- 44FK1076: Possible David Glass Sr. homestead, dating to 1749
- 44FK1077: Native American lithic site plus possible 18th-century springhouse
No Phase II investigation has been completed as of the CUP application. The county is being asked to approve ground-disturbing construction on a site where the recommended archaeological follow-up work has not been done.
HRAB's recommendation noted that if the CUP were approved over its objection, conditions should include: building heights reduced to 45 feet; Phase II archaeological survey completed before construction; and colors and materials in accordance with National Park Service standards.
The Planning Commission recommended denial on September 2, 2026. The Board of Supervisors hears the application on October 28, 2026, at 6 p.m., the same night as Virginia Technology Park and the Gibson rezoning. Sign up for e-notifications at fcva.us to see the agenda as soon as it is posted.
The following statements are from the April 17, 2026 HRAB hearing and related county proceedings.
In Opposition
Hedging
Notable Absences from the Record
- The applicant did not provide the viewshed analysis from Sandy Ridge that HRAB specifically requested
- The applicant's engineer could not say at the hearing how contaminated cooling water would be disposed of
- Winchester's Public Services Director said the city "would need to know those details" before assessing water impact
- No Phase II archaeological work has been completed despite a Phase I recommendation to do so in 2023
"~$19M/year in tax revenue" and "$635M over 30 years"
These figures come from MuniCap, Inc., a firm hired and paid by the applicant. This is not an independent analysis and has not been verified by the county.
The $19M projection is heavily weighted toward Business Personal Property Tax ($16.48M of the $19M). BPP is assessed on equipment including servers and cooling systems. As that equipment depreciates, so does the BPP revenue. The 30-year $635M figure assumes sustained equipment value that may not materialize.
Frederick County's FY2027 structural budget shortfall is $41.3 million. Even if the applicant's best-case figures are accurate, this project does not close the county's fiscal gap.
"155 permanent jobs at $86K average"
Data centers are notoriously low-employment relative to their footprint and infrastructure demands. 155 jobs across an 805,000 sq ft, 160 MW campus is a thin return.
These are direct jobs only. The MuniCap methodology typically inflates totals with indirect and induced employment multipliers that do not reflect local hiring reality.
"Closed-loop system limits water use to 35,000 gallons/day"
The application itself admits the figure "will fluctuate" and can be exceeded. 35,000 GPD is an annual average, not a hard cap.
The engineer could not say at the HRAB hearing how contaminated cooling water would actually be disposed of. Winchester's Public Services Director said the city would need more detail before assessing impact. Frederick County and Winchester share the same water source: the North Fork of the Shenandoah River via the Percy D. Miller Water Treatment Plant.
"Data center generates less traffic than by-right industrial use"
This is a comparison to a hypothetical, not to current reality. The parcel is currently undeveloped. Comparing a data center to a maximum-buildout industrial park is a framing choice, not a neutral measurement.
The Apple Valley Road widening was already proffered as part of the 2023 rezoning. The applicant is taking credit for a road improvement that was a condition of a prior approval.
"200-foot buffer and Category C screening minimizes visual impact"
Planning Director Wyatt Pearson confirmed buildings will be visible from Pritchard's Hill even with the buffer in place.
The applicant refused to provide the viewshed analysis from Sandy Ridge that HRAB specifically requested. If the screening actually worked, the analysis would support the project. The refusal to provide it is notable.
A 200-foot landscape buffer does not screen a 60-foot building from elevated vantage points to the east.
"The site is zoned M1, so something like a warehouse could be built anyway"
This is a false dilemma. The choice is not between a data center and a warehouse. The CUP can be denied, and the rezoning itself could be revisited through future Comprehensive Plan updates.
The Board of Supervisors already rejected the Winchester Gateway 2 proposal on the adjacent parcel across Route 37. The county is not obligated to approve data center development in this corridor, and has demonstrated that by doing so.
The Planning Commission recommended denial on September 2. The Board of Supervisors hears the application on October 28, 2026, at 6 p.m. The Back Creek District supervisor is Albert Orndorff, but all seven supervisors vote on CUP applications.
Your Board of Supervisors
All seven supervisors vote on this CUP. The project is in the Back Creek District, represented by Albert Orndorff.