Penzance is building a 45 MW, 240,000-square-foot hyperscale data center in Chantilly, VA, fully leased to AWS and targeted to open in 1H 2027.
This is classic Northern Virginia AI capacity: high-connectivity location, large single-tenant footprint, and “next-gen” positioning for AI, cloud, and edge workloads.
The design leans hard into efficiency and community constraints, with high-efficiency air cooling, rooftop HVAC, minimal water use, and a push for LEED-Data Center Silver.
AWS is emphasizing low-noise operations, cleaner diesel backup (90% emission cuts), spill control, and 67 acres of preserved green space with trails as it faces mounting local scrutiny in NoVA.
Operationally, the site is built to run on outside air 95% of the year, which matters for energy and water budgets as GPU density and AI loads climb.
In parallel, Amazon’s $700 million land buy in nearby Prince William County for up to 3.5 million square feet and three substations underlines how fast it is locking in power, land, and zoning for future AI data center build-out.
The article is worth a read for anyone tracking how hyperscale AI builds in NoVA are being packaged to satisfy both power-hungry growth and intensifying local and regulatory pressure.
Source: https://www.commercialcafe.com/blog/penzance-breaks-ground-new-amazon-data-center-chantilly-va/
