Anne Arundel data center slated to nearly double in size

The developer behind a Severn data center that borders acres of forest conservation and residential land wants to expand the facility to nearly twice its size.

The 37-foot-tall data center is one of only a few in the county, which is home to a growing multibillion dollar cybersecurity industry and the headquarters of the National Security Agency, U.S. Cyber Command and Fort George G. Meade.

The proposal, now in its final planning phase and awaiting approval, would add more than 88,000 square feet to the existing center, which stretches over 109,000 square feet.

It comes as the county prepares to implement at 15-month moratorium on data center development, which the outgoing Anne Arundel County Council unanimously passed this fall. While the moratorium takes effect Nov. 26, it will not impact data centers already in the development pipeline or those that are expanding.

The data center sits on about 50 acres of land on Sandy Farms Road near the intersection of Maryland Route 100 and Telegraph Road south of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Much of the land used to grow sweet potatoes and tobacco for one of Northern Anne Arundel’s oldest farming families. It’s currently owned by GI Partners, which purchased it late last year for over $101 million, according to the deed.

The data center’s developer, Oppidan, proposed the site plan about 45 days ago, prompting a community meeting Monday to discuss the expansion.

Oppidan was represented by its engineering firm, Kimley-Horn and Associates, at the meeting.

Kimley-Horn’s Jeff Smith told the meeting that the expansion is needed because of increasing demands on the data center.

“We built the first center a couple years ago, and since then, they have a bigger need now,” said Smith, explaining that the center’s end users, or customers, requested the addition.

“We had the room to do it, based on our plans,” he said.

It’s unclear who is using the data center, which is located about about 3 miles from Fort Meade, although a 2023 report said Amazon occupied a portion of the building. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

The addition requires removing “a small portion of trees” marked for conservation on the center’s west side, which the county already approved, Smith said. A similar number of trees will be planted on the facility’s northeast side, he said.

Certain paved areas and utilities on its west side also will be demolished to make room for the new structure, he said. A total of 58 parking spaces will be put in around the center, as well as an expanded storm drain system, feeding the center’s existing retaining pond.

Data center functions will continue to be supported by a mix of public and private utilities, including being served by public water and sewer.

Smith explained that the center does not use a significant amount of water, instead opting to use air cooling technology.

“It’s almost like running an AC unit in your house,” he said of the center, which will include a new generator yard fitted with 13 generators along the building’s west side.

The site plan will remain open to public comment until Nov. 24 on the county website.