By Paul Steidler InsideSources.com
July 7, 2026 - 9:01 pm
Reston, Virginia, known arsenic America’s premier, master-planned community, seems an unusual spot to beryllium rather comfy with six information centers.
The picturesque assemblage is 22 miles extracurricular of Washington. Through its maestro plan, it has agelong shunned manufacturers and immoderate enactment that successful the remotest mode pollutes, is noisy oregon unsightly. Yet, Reston’s acceptance of six information centers wrong its 16 quadrate miles offers lessons for towns considering permitting them and shows wherefore the existent absorption to these facilities is often wide overblown.
Having lived successful Reston for 27 of the past 30 years and been progressive successful the assemblage of much than 60,000, I person ne'er erstwhile heard anyone kick astir these facilities. Simply put, determination is adjacent to zero contention surrounding them.
Restonians, to beryllium sure, volition emergence up whenever they spot threats to the community, which has been designed with zealous respect for the environment. Reston is replete with man-made lakes and extended and well-maintained walking paths.
The citizenry is besides alert of governmental action. Proposals to make a play people and a casino person led to fierce pushback and truthful acold person been successfully fought.
Many residents enactment for the national authorities and national contractors, making it arsenic bluish arsenic immoderate suburb. A No Kings Saturday means galore Restonians volition beryllium retired successful unit demonstrating.
I precocious toured the extracurricular areas of the six information centers. Every 1 of them was operating quietly; determination were nary plumes, and each installation blended successful good with the surroundings successful designated concern areas.
In respective cases, the parking tons had fewer cars due to the fact that the gathering had been repurposed from different commercialized use. And determination is operation astatine 1 of the facilities, thing that has been wide passim Reston for the past decade.
Three of the facilities are owned by CoreSite and are connected campuses adjacent to different businesses. In 2024, Data Center Magazine reported that 1 of the facilities, VA3, was the ninth-largest information halfway successful the world.
This installation is undergoing operation to grow its size by much than 30 percent to 1.3 cardinal quadrate feet, which has led to immoderate assemblage opposition. However, it is acold from the sustained, melodramatic absorption that has accompanied different information halfway proposals nationwide and different governmental issues successful Reston.
The 3 non-CoreSite facilities are separate, lengthy two- to four-story structures acceptable among different commercialized buildings. Their neighbors see an crystal hockey rink, a ample adust cleaner, a pediatric therapy installation and different bureau buildings.
The outsides of each the information centers are cleanable and well-maintained. Buildings that antecedently had different commercialized purposes person aesthetically pleasing model coverings. That is to beryllium expected successful Reston — get the incorrect extortion oregon an incorrect extracurricular light, and you incur the wrath of the Reston Association.
There are respective lessons for towns to larn from Reston’s information halfway experience.
First, towns should beryllium unfastened to them. Data centers marque sizable spot taxation payments that assistance money nationalist schools and should beryllium utilized to lower, oregon astatine slightest curtail, increases successful residents’ taxes. They supply good-paying operation and different commercialized jobs for municipality residents. Data centers tin blend into a municipality or, if located distant from everything, run without adjacent remotely disturbing the prime of life.
Second, communities should respect and enactment with the information halfway developers. Companies making large investments successful information centers privation to beryllium portion of a assemblage for a agelong time. If that means they person to set the look and consciousness of a building, oregon look rigorous, respectful questions from municipality leaders and the public, they volition bash so.
Third, integrate information centers with wide municipality planning. That has worked good successful manufacturing-averse Reston. If a municipality lacks a bully program for the future, the sizable taxation revenues from a information halfway tin beryllium the catalyst for a amended program and a amended community. Data centers are besides a godsend for galore abandoned concern sites.
Fourth, cull the fearfulness and demagoguery. Town leaders considering ample information centers should spell to communities specified arsenic Reston, wherever they operate, and spot for themselves what is going on.
Optimism and open-mindedness person ever been indispensable to the American experience. It should beryllium astatine the halfway of our presumption of AI and of information centers projected for towns. By looking astatine facts and facilities firsthand, existent enactment volition beryllium exercised and omniscient decisions made.
Paul Steidler is simply a elder chap with the Lexington Institute, a nationalist argumentation deliberation vessel successful Arlington, Va. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
English (US)·