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FREDERICK COUNTYNovember 3, 2026

Frederick denies 72-acre Winchester Gateway data center

Frederick County supervisors voted unanimously Oct. 28 to deny a conditional-use permit for a 72-acre, three-building data center campus in Kernstown.

FREDERICK COUNTY — The Frederick County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Wednesday, Oct. 28, to deny a conditional-use permit for the Winchester Gateway data center campus, the Winchester Star reported. The 72-acre project at Apple Valley and Middle roads in Kernstown, in the Back Creek District, called for three data center buildings, an electrical substation and Tier IV diesel generators.

About 30 people spoke against the project. Residents raised concerns about health effects, home values, groundwater contamination in the area's karst terrain and low-frequency noise. One supervisor said, "The neighbors have spoken, it's not conducive to this neighborhood." Another pointed to the applicant's own sound study, which projected higher noise levels.

County staff had proposed 11 conditions, including noise monitoring and a limit of 35,000 gallons of water a day. The applicant, Winchester Gateway LLC, objected only to a 45-foot building height limit, arguing it needed 60 feet. The county planning commission had unanimously recommended denial in September, and the Kernstown Battlefield Association also raised concerns about views of the nearby battlefield. The property was rezoned to Light Industrial in 2024.

The vote follows a Sept. 23 board decision, 6-1, to remove data centers as both a permitted and a conditional use in Frederick County. The board exempted two pending proposals from the change if they were heard by Oct. 28: Winchester Gateway and the Virginia Technology Park in Clear Brook. Equus Capital Partners withdrew the Clear Brook rezoning request the week before the meeting.

With the Winchester Gateway denial and the Clear Brook withdrawal, neither of the two exempted proposals remains pending, and data centers are no longer a permitted or conditional use under the county's zoning ordinance.

Why it matters

Both data center proposals Frederick County exempted from its September ban have now ended, one by withdrawal and one by a unanimous denial, which shows how quickly local boards in rural Virginia are moving to close the door on new campuses.

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