BF Saul Companies is pursuing a rezoning that would convert approximately 37 acres at Dulles Technology Park, east of Route 28 in Sterling, Loudoun County, Virginia, into an industrial data center site. The application was first reported by ZoneWire and is referenced in Loudoun County government materials covering substation and infrastructure planning tied to the Tech Park at Dulles area.

The application, recorded in Loudoun County records as LEGI-2024-56 / ZMAP-2024-18, requests a zoning conversion to permit an industrial data center use at the Dulles Technology Park site. Public documents do not specify megawatt capacity, total square footage, building count, capital investment, or a named tenant or utility provider.

BF Saul Companies is a real estate and investment firm with a long presence in the Washington, D.C. metro region. The Dulles Technology Park application represents the company's entry into the data center development market, positioning a site it controls in one of the most active data center corridors in the United States.

On September 17, 2026, the Loudoun County Planning Commission voted 5-4 to recommend denial of the rezoning. That vote is advisory. The application remains a pending legislative matter, and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors holds final authority. As of mid-September 2026, no Board of Supervisors vote, construction start, or approved site plan had been reported.

The 5-4 Planning Commission vote signals meaningful internal division rather than routine approval. A one-vote margin against recommendation is not a project-ending outcome, but it does indicate that opposition arguments gained traction with commissioners. Developers advancing similar conversion applications in Loudoun County should expect scrutiny on land use compatibility, utility load, and community impact, particularly as the county balances continued data center growth against other planning priorities.

Sterling sits inside a labor market already shaped by data center construction. Loudoun County and the surrounding Northern Virginia region have produced a substantial workforce of electricians, HVAC technicians, civil trades workers, and low-voltage specialists through years of continuous hyperscale builds. That depth is real, and it is a genuine advantage for any project that reaches construction.

The more specific challenge is sequencing. Because Loudoun already has tens of millions of square feet of data center capacity approved or in the pipeline, the specialized trades that a project like this would need are not absent, they are committed. Contractors embedded in the county's build cycle book crews well in advance, and a new entrant to the construction schedule competes with projects that may have secured commitments a year or more earlier. The strategic staffing question for BF Saul, assuming the rezoning ultimately advances, is not whether qualified workers exist locally but whether early contractor alignment can secure a crew before the pipeline fills.

Sterling is also roughly 25 to 30 miles from Washington, D.C., which means the available labor pool is constantly pulled by competing employers across federal contracting, defense, commercial construction, and other data center operators. That competition keeps experienced workers employed and limits the kind of slack that makes hiring straightforward. For a full breakdown of roles, sourcing strategy, and how to position effectively in this specific market, see our guide to hiring data center talent in Loudoun County, Virginia. Sources: ZoneWire, which first reported the Planning Commission action, and Loudoun County Government, whose materials reference infrastructure planning tied to the Tech Park at Dulles area.