PowerHouse Pacific data center is advancing toward delivery as a major 265MW construction project in Northern Virginia. The three-building campus occupies 43 acres along Pacific Boulevard in Ashburn. The development is replacing the former AOL headquarters site with 1,131,350 square feet of data center space. Current developer information puts the first building’s delivery in September 2026, while the wider campus schedule extends into 2027.
The project forms part of a wider $1 billion joint venture between American Real Estate Partners and Harrison Street. That investment covers a broader Northern Virginia development program rather than only PowerHouse Pacific.
PowerHouse Pacific Data Center reaches key construction stage
PowerHouse Pacific data center will comprise three three-story buildings across the 43-acre site. Together, they will provide 1,131,350 square feet of developable space.
The campus will support a maximum utility capacity of 265MW. The latest PowerHouse schedule places overall construction and delivery between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2027.
Meanwhile, American Real Estate Partners lists September 2026 as the delivery date for the first building. This indicates that the campus will enter operation in phases rather than through one final handover.
The development began with the redevelopment of the former AOL headquarters. Demolition work cleared the existing office complex before data center construction moved forward.
PowerHouse data centers has also planned dedicated power infrastructure for its Northern Virginia developments. The broader programme includes projects in Ashburn and Arcola.
PowerHouse Pacific Data Center expands Northern Virginia capacity
PowerHouse Pacific data center sits within Loudoun County’s major data center cluster. The location provides access to established fiber networks and hyperscale cloud infrastructure.
The development also forms part of PowerHouse Data Centers’ larger Northern Virginia expansion. The company currently lists 515MW across its Northern Virginia projects, including Pacific, ABX-1, Arcola and QC.
PowerHouse’s wider portfolio has also expanded beyond Virginia. The company now lists nearly 39.3 million square feet of data center facilities underway, planned or completed across the United States.
The wider portfolio represents nearly 10GW across nine US markets. This expansion reflects continuing demand for high-performance computing and high-density power infrastructure.
Power availability remains central to Northern Virginia’s data center construction pipeline. PowerHouse therefore incorporates dedicated utility infrastructure into several developments.
The company’s Pacific campus will have access to up to 265MW of utility capacity. Its current schedule places power delivery in the third quarter of 2026.
The project’s construction schedule also shows how developers are phasing large data center campuses. The first building can begin delivery while additional facilities continue through later construction stages.
The PowerHouse Pacific development also provides useful context for the emerging nuclear-powered data center market. Developers increasingly seek dedicated and scalable power solutions for high-density computing.
This trend is visible in Utah, where Project Beehive proposes combining nuclear generation with a large data center development. The Utah proposal would take a fundamentally different approach by placing advanced nuclear generation alongside computing infrastructure.
For PowerHouse Pacific, however, the immediate construction priority remains delivery of its three-building Virginia campus. Current developer information points to phased completion through the second quarter of 2027.
More on the Data Center Project in Virginia
PowerHouse Data Centers, an American Real Estate Partners affiliate, begun the project with the demolition of a former AOL headquarters in Sterling, Virginia, where it is putting up the new PowerHouse Pacific Data Center campus. According to Data Center Frontier, the corporation, in collaboration with Harrison Street, purchased the 43-acre land for $136 million in 2021.
On-site demolition was completed by early 2024, allowing for the construction of a power substation by Dominion Energy to begin. The power station was completed in Summer 2024. Dominion Energy is also spearheading the completion of the 2.6 GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project which expects completion by late 2026. The wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach is about 60% complete as of September 2025.
Two parking garages, three office buildings, one main hub, and a pedestrian bridge are now on the site.
Additionally, construction at the data center site in Virginia began in Fall 2024, with completion scheduled for 2026/2027. E.E. Reed Construction, a general contractor, was also involved in the PowerHouse Pacific Data Center’s site demolition and site-preparation phases.
Outlook on the PowerHouse Pacific Data Center Project in Virginia
PowerHouse Pacific Data Center is located off Pacific Boulevard, about 30 miles from Washington, D.C. This is about 5 miles from Dulles International Airport. It is also lesser than 3 miles from the joint venture’s first data center project in the area, the 265,580-square-foot ABX-1, which CyrusOne has leased for a 30-year tenure.
These two facilities are part of a $1 billion investment in Northern Virginia to build 2.1 million sq ft of data center space. CyrusOne is also undertaking the construction of a 190MW data center project in Bosque County, Texas.
According to a recent CBRE research, data center supply in key markets increased by 12% in the first half of 2023, with an all-time high construction backlog for the asset type of 2,288 MW, indicating a 25% year-over-year growth.
Also from the same source, Northern Virginia has been the best-performing market in the industry, with a vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent. Furthermore, the region continues to draw new investors as US States scramble for data center investment dollars as seen by Digital Realty’s recent $1.5 billion joint venture agreement with TPG Real Estate Partners for three local data centers.
Project Fact Sheet
Name: PowerHouse Pacific Data Center
Type: Hyperscale data center campus
Location: Pacific Boulevard, Ashburn, Virginia, United States
County: Loudoun County
Site area: 43 acres
Buildings: Three
Building height: Three stories each
Total developable area: 1,131,350 square feet
Maximum utility capacity: 265MW
Construction and delivery period: Q4 2023 to Q2 2027
First building delivery: September 2026
Overall delivery window: Q3 2026 to Q2 2027
Power delivery: Q3 2026
Previous site use: Former AOL headquarters campus
Development model: Data center redevelopment and new construction
Wider investment programme: $1 billion AREP-Harrison Street Northern Virginia joint venture
Project construction cost: Not separately disclosed
Current status: Construction and phased delivery
Market: Northern Virginia Data Center Alley
Project Team
Developer: PowerHouse Data Centers
Parent company: American Real Estate Partners
Investment partner: Harrison Street
Property investment platform: AREP-Harrison Street joint venture
Power infrastructure partner: Dominion Energy
General contractor: E.E. Reed Construction
Previous-site demolition contractor: E.E. Reed Construction
Leasing brokers: Rob Walters and John Andril
Brokerage firm: Eastdil Secured
Data center operator/developer platform: PowerHouse Data Centers
Utility capacity: Dominion Energy infrastructure
Site: Pacific Boulevard, Ashburn, Virginia
Development strategy: Hyperscale powered-shell data center construction
Wider Northern Virginia programme: PowerHouse Data Centers
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