Key Takeaways
- Land gift: Amazon agreed to convey about 25 acres of the George Washington University (GW) campus to Loudoun County, with a stated fair market value of $65 million.
- Data center plan: Amazon stated its intent to withdraw its data center application for the site and forgo legal action.
- Price comparison: the $65 million value equals 15.2% of the $427 million purchase price that Fortune reported. The 25 acres are about 20.5% of the roughly 122 acres that the donated land and the remaining 97 acres total.
Amazon agreed to convey approximately 25 acres of land on the George Washington University (GW) campus to Loudoun County under a preliminary agreement announced October 20, 2026. The land has a stated fair market value of $65 million, according to the county's announcement. Amazon also stated its intent to withdraw its data center application for the site.
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, on measures intended to eliminate potential data center uses on the campus. In exchange, the board agreed to fast-track rezoning of the remaining 97 acres, which Amazon keeps, for housing and mixed-use development.
25 acres for Loudoun County and rezoning of the remaining 97 acres
The county says the agreements must still be finalized in the coming months. The 25-acre parcel may be conveyed to the county at no cost as part of residential rezoning applications, so its $65 million value is a stated figure, not a price paid. Fortune reported that the land is intended for a community arts center and an indoor sports and recreation facility. Board Chair Phyllis Randall expects the rezoning to take about a year, Fortune reported.
GW campus sale and the $427 million purchase price
In February, GW announced that it had sold the campus without initially naming the buyer or disclosing the price, Fortune reported. The county says the campus was purchased earlier this year by Amazon Web Services (AWS). The county also reports that the university will continue operations at the site for the next four and a half years, and that AWS stated it plans to continue using the existing university buildings for educational purposes. In March, The GW Hatchet, the student newspaper, identified Amazon Data Services as the buyer at a purchase price of $427 million, Fortune reported. Neither account says whether AWS and Amazon Data Services are the same entity.
Donated land value compared with the purchase price
The $65 million stated value of the 25 acres equals 15.2% of the $427 million purchase price. The 25 acres are about 20.5% of the roughly 122 acres that the donated land and the remaining 97 acres total. Amazon keeps the other 97 acres, so the ratio does not measure what Amazon gave up.
Project Potomac Promise and the $5 million housing trust fund
The county said Board Chair Phyllis Randall and Amazon titled the arrangement "Project Potomac Promise." Amazon has offered to donate $5 million to the county's housing trust fund. At a press conference alongside Amazon Web Services data center delivery vice president Joshua Weissman, Phyllis Randall said, "My goal was to disallow data centers or infrastructure that could support data centers on this property." In the county's announcement, she said the land donation "provides the opportunity to build a long-awaited indoor sports facility and community arts center for the county."
Loudoun data center tax base and Amazon's investment
Loudoun County reported about 233 data center buildings covering about 56.5 million square feet, Fortune reported. Data centers generated about $1.2 billion in real and personal property tax revenue in fiscal 2026, or 39% of the county's overall budget. Joshua Weissman said Amazon has invested more than $63 billion in Loudoun County itself since 2011.
Juli Briskman's April request and July opposition
In April, Algonkian district supervisor Juli Briskman asked county staff to examine the potential effects of the proposed development. Briskman said the $427 million purchase price, roughly four times the property's assessed value, and its zoning status made it reasonable to expect Amazon to pursue data center construction. By July, she had challenged the prospect of adding another large data center.
In late July, Amazon filed a site plan for a proposed data center development named Bridgefield Tech Center, with four two-story data center buildings totaling more than 800,000 square feet. Joshua Weissman said, "We just heard from the community. We partnered with Loudoun, and we just decided this was just the right thing to do."
Related WYDE coverage: Pennsylvania Bars AI Data Centers From Shifting Grid Costs to Households Under Executive Order 2026-05 and Sanders and AOC Introduce Bill to Halt All New AI Data Center Construction.
People Also Ask
How much land is Amazon giving Loudoun County?
Amazon agreed to convey approximately 25 acres of land to Loudoun County, which has a stated fair market value of $65 million.
What was the purchase price of the GW campus?
Fortune reported that The GW Hatchet identified Amazon Data Services as the buyer in March, at a purchase price of $427 million. The stated $65 million value of the 25 acres equals 15.2% of that price.
What is Project Potomac Promise?
Project Potomac Promise is the name that Board Chair Phyllis Randall and Amazon gave the agreement, according to the county. Under it, Amazon agreed to convey about 25 acres to the county, and the county agreed to fast-track rezoning of the remaining 97 acres.
Sources: Fortune, Loudoun County.