As reported by Michael Neibauer of the Washington Business Journal, another massive data center land deal just dropped in Northern Virginia, this time in Leesburg, and it set a new per-acre record for the region.
According to public records, JK Land Holdings, led by Chuck Kuhn (the CEO of JK Moving Services in Sterling), sold 97 acres of fully entitled data center land for $615 million to an affiliate of SDC Capital Partners. That works out to roughly $6.3 million per acre, believed to be the highest raw land sale ever recorded in the region.
What Makes This Deal So Huge
This sale closed in November 2025, just one day after Amazon's $700 million purchase of Devlin Tech Park in Bristow, meaning Northern Virginia saw over $1.3 billion in data center land deals in less than 48 hours.
JK Land Holdings originally acquired the Leesburg site, known as Twin Creeks, for about $57 million in 2021. The site sits on the south side of Cochran Mill Road, immediately north of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail east of Leesburg. The company then secured approvals for five two-story data centers totaling 1.6 million square feet, plus a Dominion Energy substation. Dominion separately bought 13 acres nearby for $45 million.
In total, Kuhn's entities turned a roughly $64 million investment into nearly $700 million in proceeds. That is about a 10x return in four years.
The transfer tax revenue alone was substantial. As Chuck Kuhn told Loudoun Now after the deal closed: "This transaction brought $4 million of transfer taxes alone into Loudoun County, right this week." He also noted that the project itself will create between 150 and 200 full-time jobs in the county once built out.
If you are curious what this means for local property values, take a look at the latest homes for sale in Leesburg, a market where tech infrastructure meets historic charm and family-friendly neighborhoods.
See the Newest Leesburg, VA Real Estate
Why It Matters
Even as Loudoun County faces increasing political pressure to rein in new data centers, this sale proves the demand for entitled land remains off the charts. Developers and investors are paying premium prices for sites already cleared to build because the entitlement process in Northern Virginia has become significantly tougher.
In March 2025, the Loudoun Board of Supervisors voted to end by-right zoning for data centers (Phase 1 of a multi-phase regulatory overhaul). Previously, in some areas of the county, data centers could be approved through staff-level review only, without a public hearing. After the March 2025 vote, all new data center applications require staff review, a Planning Commission public hearing, and a Board of Supervisors final decision. Phase 2 of the regulatory work is now underway, with draft amendments going to the Board in May 2026, public comment in July, and full adoption anticipated December 2026.
That regulatory tightening is exactly why fully entitled sites like Twin Creeks command record-breaking prices. You cannot rush the new approval process, and developers with capital are willing to pay a premium for sites that already cleared the old by-right pathway.
As Buddy Rizer, Loudoun County's Director of Economic Development, told the Washington Business Journal:
"Despite long power delivery timelines and other challenges, the demand and value proposition for data centers in Loudoun remains strong."
He is right. Loudoun County remains the global capital of digital infrastructure. The county hosts the largest concentration of data centers in the world and handles a significant share of global internet traffic.
The Numbers Behind Loudoun's Data Center Economy
The financial impact on Loudoun County is hard to overstate:
- Data centers added $16 billion in value to the Loudoun real property portfolio in 2024 alone, bringing the total to $41 billion
- Data centers generate roughly half of the county's property tax revenue
- For every $1 in services the county provides to data centers, it collects $26 in tax revenue
- Assessed value of data centers averages $609 per square foot, around triple the value of other commercial uses
- Real property tax rate has dropped from $1.285 in 2008 to $0.805 in 2025, six cents lower than 2024, driven largely by data center revenue
- Without data centers, the county's residential property tax rate would likely be more than $1 per $100 assessed value
That is what is at stake in the local debate. The data center industry has transformed Loudoun's tax base in ways that genuinely benefit homeowners through lower rates. But it has also fundamentally changed the character of large parts of the county, particularly Ashburn, and residents have voiced legitimate concerns about noise, visual impact, transmission line corridors, and water and energy use.
Can Loudoun Stop New Data Centers?
The short answer: no, not entirely. Some residents have called for a complete moratorium on new data center construction, but the Board of Supervisors does not have the legal authority to impose a moratorium under Virginia state law. Virginia requires each rezoning or special exception application to be considered on its individual merits. A blanket prohibition is not legally permissible.
What the county can do is tighten the standards each application must meet. That is what Phase 1 (eliminating by-right approval) and Phase 2 (new use-specific zoning standards) are designed to do.
Existing entitlements like the Twin Creeks site are protected by vested rights under state law, which is why deals like the $615 million SDC Capital purchase can still close even as the regulatory climate shifts.
The Big Picture
Northern Virginia has become the most valuable patch of digital real estate on Earth. In a single 48-hour window in November 2025, more than $1.3 billion worth of data center land changed hands. What started as farmland and quiet industrial sites is now selling at prices that rival Manhattan real estate.
The Twin Creeks site Kuhn assembled is a perfect example of the new economics. The land sat in an area planned for heavy industrial use for decades. As Kuhn put it: "It was not providing jobs. It was not bringing in taxes. It was next to a rock quarry. So I can't think of a better place in the county for data than this location."
SDC Capital Partners, the buyer, is a specialized private investment firm focused on IT and communications infrastructure. The five approved data centers on the Twin Creeks site will eventually total 1.6 million square feet and add hundreds of jobs to the county. The substation Dominion is building next door will power not just this campus but the broader corridor.
This is the new face of economic development in Northern Virginia. Not just tech jobs and suburban growth, but the physical infrastructure that powers the entire internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
An affiliate of SDC Capital Partners, a specialized private investment firm focused on IT and communications infrastructure, purchased the 97-acre Twin Creeks parcel from JK Land Holdings for $615 million in November 2025. Chuck Kuhn is the CEO of JK Moving Services, a moving and storage company headquartered in Sterling, Virginia, and the manager of JK Land Holdings. He has assembled and sold multiple high-value data center sites across Northern Virginia. The Twin Creeks deal turned a roughly $64 million investment (including the original $57 million site purchase and adjacent transactions) into nearly $700 million in proceeds. The 97-acre Twin Creeks site is located on the south side of Cochran Mill Road, immediately north of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, east of Leesburg in Loudoun County. The site has approval for five two-story data centers totaling 1.6 million square feet, plus a Dominion Energy substation. The Twin Creeks site was fully entitled, meaning all the rezoning and special exception approvals were already in place for data center development. After Loudoun County ended by-right data center zoning in March 2025, sites with existing entitlements became substantially more valuable because new applicants now have to go through staff review, a Planning Commission public hearing, and a Board of Supervisors approval. Buyers with capital are willing to pay a premium to skip that process and start building. Not entirely. Virginia state law prohibits localities from imposing a blanket moratorium on data center applications. Each rezoning or special exception must be considered on its individual merits. What Loudoun can do, and is doing, is tighten the standards each application must meet. The Board ended by-right data center zoning in March 2025 and is currently developing new use-specific zoning standards through 2026 (Phase 2). Substantially. Data centers added $16 billion in real property value to Loudoun in 2024 alone, bringing the total to $41 billion. They generate roughly half of the county's property tax revenue. For every $1 in services the county provides to data centers, it collects $26 in tax revenue. Without the industry, Loudoun's residential property tax rate would likely be more than $1 per $100 assessed value instead of the current $0.805. According to Chuck Kuhn, the five-data-center Twin Creeks project alone will create between 150 and 200 full-time jobs in Loudoun County once built out, on top of significant construction jobs during the multi-year build. The Twin Creeks deal closed just one day after Amazon's $700 million purchase of Devlin Tech Park in Bristow, totaling more than $1.3 billion in data center land deals in 48 hours. Northern Magazine subsequently identified the Twin Creeks transaction as one of four major data center deals reshaping NoVA's landscape in early 2026, alongside Devlin and other Loudoun County and Prince William County deals. The data center industry has been a significant factor in keeping Loudoun's residential property tax rate low while the county invests in schools and services. At the same time, proximity to data center campuses, transmission line corridors, and substations can affect specific home values and quality of life. The impact depends heavily on location. For homes within sight or sound of campuses, effects can be negative. For Leesburg homes farther from the industrial zones, the property tax benefits accrue without the proximity downsides.Who bought the Twin Creeks land in Leesburg?
Who is Chuck Kuhn?
Where is the Twin Creeks data center site?
Why was this land worth $6.3 million per acre?
Can Loudoun County stop new data centers from being built?
How much do data centers contribute to Loudoun County?
How many jobs will the Twin Creeks data center campus create?
What other major data center deals have closed recently in Northern Virginia?
How does this affect Leesburg homeowners?
As reported by Michael Neibauer, Washington Business Journal. Read the full report at WashingtonBusinessJournal.com.
Thinking about investing, developing, or relocating in Loudoun County? Reach out to the Chris Colgan Team for local expertise.
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