By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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For Stafford County Administrator Bill Ashton, the speed with which the first data center at the Stafford Technology Campus went up was impressive. He’s even more excited about what it means for the county.

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“It’s an incredible opportunity for staff from a revenue perspective,” he said. “From a growth perspective, from an economic development perspective, I think this really helps diversity our base …. We’re thrilled to see it.”

Stafford County Administrator Bill Ashton (R) with Nick Minor (L) of Stack.

Beyond the tax revenue the Stafford Technology campus is projected to generate — about $80 million annually — there are additional utility projects that are expected to take about $60 million off the county’s Capital Improvement books, Stafford Superintendent Dr. Pamela Yeung noted in her opening remarks.

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That’s possible because of an innovative approach Stack took to solving the cooling question at the site. [Disclaimer: Stack is an FXBG Advance contributor, but per our policies has no editorial input.] According to Ben Yazman, who handles major infrastructure development and construction for Stack, the challenge was finding a way to cool the data centers in a way that wouldn’t stress the county’s existing infrastructure.

Ben Yazman (L) of Stack, who does infrastructure development for Stack, with Curry Roberts (R), recently retired CEO of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance.

The plan involves taking “millions of gallons of effluent, or used potable water,” he said, “treat it to industrial standard … and then we’ll build a five-and-a-half mile long pipe from Aquia wastewater treatment site” and bring it down to this site.

“Basically,” he continued, “it all amounts to about $200 million of investment in what will become Stafford County, wholly owned, infrastructure that we will be the anchor tenant for in the long run.”

This treated effluent water — commonly called “reclaimed water” — that isn’t used on the campus can then be sold to other communities.

The size of the construction project is notable. To this point, the project has logged 425,000 work hours, said Stack President Matt VanderZanden in his comments to the roughly 100 people who gathered on-site to celebrate the Topping Off ceremony.

The project also required moving 3 million cubic yards of earth, he said, and constructing a retaining wall measuring 4,000 linear feet.

More important to VanderZanden than the numbers, however, is what this project means for Stack and Stafford. “This is us joining a community,” he said in his remarks.

Kevin Hughes, Stack’s Chief External Affairs Officer, put a fine point on that observation.

“Today marks an important milestone for a transformative project,” he told the Advance, “that is the result of the vision and diligent work by leaders in Stafford to bring a responsible, large-scale investment to the county.

Below: Raising the final beam.

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