Diode Ventures pulls application, permits for construction of data center in Charles City

The saga to rezone agricultural land to commercial and industrial for the construction of a data center in Charles City County has come to an end.

In a press release, Diode Ventures pulled its application for rezoning on Aug. 18 in a letter to Charles City County after community feedback. Moreso, it was community opposition.

For the past two years, Diode Ventures have proposed the construction of a data center near the Roxbury Industrial Park. According to Diode, the location would have garnered at least 800 jobs and produced $258 million in revenue over the next 20 years.

But during a June 2025 Charles City Board of Supervisors meeting, county residents spoke for more than two-and-a-half hours with concerns on the rezoning proposal. Citizens pointed out the company’s history, as well as many residents living near the property raising concerns. At that meeting, echoes from constituents referenced that rezoning was unnecessary and the amount of resources needed to operate the facility.

Charles City District 1 supervisor Ryan Patterson commented at the June meeting that he had concerns that questions he had about the project could not be answered. Diode representative T. Preston Lloyd Jr. addressed Patterson, said he did not want to mislead the board with inaccurate information. Patterson retorted, saying that the company should have been able to gather the information because several citizens had access to it.

County leaders deferred the item for two months, with the expectation of a decision was to be made at the Aug. 26 regular board meeting. Instead, Diode Ventures put out a press release on their decision to withdraw the project.

“Diode Ventures has spent the better part of two years working in Charles City County to analyze the Roxbury Technology Park site for a potential data center development,” the press release said. “During that time, we also identified ways the community would benefit, such as improved local infrastructure, significant new tax revenue streams, and job training initiatives.

“However, after careful consideration, Diode notified the Charles City County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 18 that we would be withdrawing our rezoning application and accompanying special use permits for the site,” the release continued. “Despite the county planning commission’s support of the project earlier this year, we made the decision to shift our focus elsewhere based on the results of conversations with our local collaborators and analysis of the site’s availability to be shovel-ready with power and municipal support.”

Charles City County’s Board of Supervisors did not have any comment at the time of this story, but is expected to reference the withdrawal at the August regular board meeting.