Ashburn and Loudoun County
“Data Center Alley,” with more than 250 data centers. The Equinix Internet Exchange in Ashburn connects 347 networks.
Colocation advisory · Northern Virginia
Colocation advisory in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia is the world’s largest data center market, and one of the hardest to get into. Bargun finds powered space in Ashburn, Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax, contracts it on sound terms, and builds it out and manages it, from New York, about 6 ms away.
Where the space is
The Northern Virginia market, district by district.
Prince William County
Manassas and Gainesville: 57 data centers built and 30 under construction. In September 2026 the county cut its by-right data center area from about 9,700 to about 3,641 acres.
Fairfax County
Reston, Herndon and Chantilly. CoreSite VA1 in Reston is an AWS Direct Connect location. Since 2024 new data centers need a 200-foot setback from homes.
Before you sign
What buyers overlook in Northern Virginia.
Data centers are not interchangeable, and the differences usually show up after the contract is signed. These are the checks we run before a Northern Virginia shortlist.
Power
Dominion Energy’s wait for full power in Data Center Alley grew from 4 years in 2022 to 7 years in 2024. Space an operator has already energized is the realistic route, so we get the energization date in the contract.
Zoning
Loudoun ended by-right approval in March 2025 and paused votes on new data center applications in September 2026. Near-term space is on existing campuses, not new ones.
Power costs
Virginia began taxing data center electricity at 1.1 cents per kWh on July 1, 2026, and a new Dominion rate class for 25 MW+ customers starts January 1, 2027. We check how each provider passes these through.
Cloud on-ramps
AWS us-east-1, Google us-east4 and Azure East US are all here. AWS Direct Connect is at Equinix DC2 and DC11, Digital Realty IAD38 and CoreSite VA1.
Latency
About 6 ms round trip to New York on one network’s measurements in October 2026. Close enough for disaster recovery and cloud adjacency, too far for exchange-latency trading.
How we work
Find it. Contract it. Build it. Manage it.
Take the whole lifecycle or just the stage you need. One lead owns the schedule, the providers and the paperwork, from the first Northern Virginia requirement to day-two operations.
STAGE 1
Find the right space
A shortlist of Northern Virginia facilities that fit on power, density, connectivity and price, with site tours and a side-by-side comparison.
STAGE 2
Contract it
Bids leveled and terms negotiated: price per kW, escalators, expansion rights, renewal options and the MSA.
STAGE 3
Build out the racks
Cabinet layouts, PDUs, structured cabling, cross-connects and access control, with every vendor coordinated until go-live.
STAGE 4
Manage it
Remote hands, capacity and invoice checks after go-live, and Portfolio Desk if you run several sites.
Questions
Colocation in Northern Virginia: common questions.
How much does colocation cost in Northern Virginia?
CBRE reported asking rents of $190 to $235 per kW per month in Q1 2026, and they continue to rise. Large-block pricing is lower per kW but needs long commitments.
Is there any space left?
Very little. Vacancy was 0.2% with 10.8 MW available in H1 2026, and nearly all new capacity is preleased. Small footprints in existing buildings are still possible; large blocks need to be secured early.
How long does it take to get power?
For new buildings, years: Dominion’s wait for full power reached 7 years in 2024. The fastest route is space an operator has already energized.
Northern Virginia or New York?
Northern Virginia for cloud adjacency and scale; New York and New Jersey for the exchanges and Manhattan’s networks. Many firms run both, about 6 ms apart.
Start a project
Tell us the footprint and the date.
Send the basics for Northern Virginia and we'll come back with how we'd approach it, which providers fit, and a realistic timeline.
Other markets
Five hubs, and any other metro you need.
NYCNew YorkMarket guide →
IADNorthern VirginiaYou are here
LONLondonMarket guide →
FRAFrankfurtMarket guide →
TYOTokyoMarket guide →
Sources
Market figures as of October 2026. Each figure on this page carries its source and date; ranges differ between research firms because they count capacity differently.
- CBRE, North American data center demand continues to outpace supply (Sep 2026)
- CBRE, Global Data Center Trends 2026
- CBRE, Northern Virginia extends lead as largest U.S. market (Mar 2026)
- Virginia Mercury, Loudoun and other localities consider pausing data centers (Jul 2026)
- Virginia Business, Prince William moves to end by-right data centers (Sep 2026)
- Fairfax County, data center zoning amendment (Sep 2024)
- Loudoun County, data center standards
- Loudoun County, statement on the data center pause (Sep 2026)
- Prince William Times, the power crunch (Jul 2026)
- GovTech, Virginia approves data center power tax (Jul 2026)
- Loudoun Now, SCC approves new data center rate class
- Internet Society Pulse, Equinix Internet Exchange Ashburn
- AWS Direct Connect locations
- Hatsnet, New York to Ashburn round-trip latency