How does HIT Park investment break down for Prince Edward?

Published 7:30 am Wednesday, February 5, 2025

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In the master agreement and statements sent out after the vote to sell the Heartland Innovative Technology (HIT) Park, there’s a specific number attached. The projection is that the sale and the data centers that could be built here will generate $5 billion for Prince Edward. But what does that mean? Where is that number coming from? Let’s take a look. 

First off, just a quick refresher. This refers to the HIT Park sale. The property, located in two parcels on 82 Kelly Lane and 230 Kelly Lane near Farmville, is being sold to AVAIO Digital, the same group currently working to build a data center in Appomattox. For those unfamiliar with the area, in order to find this property, you take East Third Street in Farmville past Sunchase Cinema, heading out of town. Third connects with Persimmon Tree Fork Road, which then connects with Kelly Lane just a few minutes down the road. 

Breaking down the HIT Park numbers 

The purchase price is $12.2 million for the property. A deposit of $250,000 will be paid by AVAIO within 10 days, with the rest paid after the sale officially closes. The county and company estimate that over the course of the data centers’ existence here, the total investment made on and in the site will amount to $5 billion. That includes all IT (information technology) equipment that will have to be purchased, such as computers, etc. 

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How does that break down? The master agreement has some qualifiers. “Depending on the type of data center build, the Company shall make capital investments into the Project, ranging from approximately $800 million to approximately $2.4 billion,” the document states. This will come in the form of “land acquisition, site preparation and development, construction of the data center buildings and related infrastructure, and acquisition and installation of fixtures, equipment, machinery, processes and furnishings.” So to be clear, this part is an estimate. It could be as low as $800 million or as high as $2.4 billion. That depends partly on the number of buildings constructed, which could be as many as five or as few as two. The capital investments will then be taxed in turn by the county. 

The majority of the rest of the $5 billion in investment also comes with a caveat in that there are no guarantees. “The company estimates, but does not commit, that its data center tenants will make a collective additional capital investment of $2.4 billion in equipment, machinery, processes and furnishings,” the document states. Again, it depends on several things. First, the amount of equipment and machinery of course is dependent on the number of buildings constructed. But that number also depends on the ever-evolving technology. What might be needed today could be obsolete by the time construction starts in a couple of years. Just like the first $2.4 billion, this also would be taxed by the county. 

How many jobs will be coming here?

Another question often raised is how many jobs will be coming here? The master agreement goes on to say that AVAIO estimates there will be 100 temporary construction jobs created at the HIT Park property.

The group also estimates, but does not commit, that there will be “30 permanent direct full-time jobs per two-story building during the Project’s operations and 15 permanent direct full-time jobs per one-story building.”

So in order to see how many jobs will come as a result, we’ll have to wait until construction is finished. The contract states there will be up to five buildings, but no guarantee as to how many will be two-story and how many will be one-story. And again, those are estimates, not guarantees. The company may decide that it doesn’t need 30 employees in a two-story building by the time construction is finished and due to the way the agreement is worded, that’s allowed. 

A construction timeline 

It could also take some time before we actually see construction begin on the property. The master agreement states that within 36 months after the sale closes and all the infrastructure is put in, then “the company shall commence construction and within 36 months after such commencement, shall complete construction of the first data center building on the property.” 

So within a three-year window after the sale is done, the company agrees to start construction. Then, within another three-year window, the company promises to finish the first building. So that means it could be six years in total before a building is finished. 

Now if, through no fault of the IDA, construction hasn’t started in that timeframe, Prince Edward will have a one-time right of reversion when it comes to the property. In other words, they can reacquire it. As soon as the county notifies AVAIO that it wants to take the property back, the company will have 60 days to start construction and keep the contract intact. 

If that doesn’t happen and construction doesn’t start on time, then the county can get the land back, but they have to repay the purchase price received from the company.

What’s needed before HIT Park construction? 

Before construction starts, there are a few things left to complete. According to the master agreement, Prince Edward County’s IDA (Industrial Development Authority) is in the process of designing, engineering and constructing the project’s water infrastructure. That’s expected to cost an estimated $12.6 million. The Town of Farmville will provide sewer, with an estimated $8.1 million for designing, engineering and constructing the infrastructure.

The property has already been zoned for a data center and AVAIO has already finished preliminary site engineering. The company has also confirmed that it is negotiating with Dominion for 300 megawatts of power.
Meanwhile, the county will be in charge of completing all road improvements. That work is intended to be paid, in part, with proceeds of a transportation grant from the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, along with some other funds provided by the state. That comes in at a minimum of $4.5 million.

Now in each of these cases, there is a clause attached. If Prince Edward can’t secure grant funding to cover the cost of the infrastructure projects, then the company will pay the difference, anything outstanding.

In return, “the IDA, with the assistance of the county, shall make annual grants to the company each year for a period of 10 years or until the company has been reimbursed 50,” the agreement states. If the company does end up paying, it only gets a guaranteed reimbursement of 50%. 

Both sides applaud the deal 

AVAIO’s Kevin Murphy said this property is in a good location to meet needs of companies. 

The campus will be well positioned to address the growing need for large scale projects and will be designed and executed using AVAIO Digital’s Green Compute suite of sustainable approaches,” Murphy said. 

Officials from Prince Edward’s IDA and board of supervisors also applauded the deal, saying they were excited for how it would transform the county. 

“The development of a new data center campus will bolster our county’s infrastructure and connectivity and provide a stable foundation for our economy,” said IDA Chairman Brad Watson in a statement. “I believe when this project is completed, it will be transformative for our community.”

Those comments were echoed by new Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Jenkins. 

“(This) announcement marks a significant milestone in Prince Edward County’s ongoing economic development efforts,” Jenkins said.  “I commend the members of the Industrial Development Authority and the project team for their hard work and due diligence as this process unfolded.”