Published October 25, 2026 | Written by the Mission Realty Team.
On Monday, October 19, 2026, several hundred Henrico and Goochland residents gathered at Christ Church Episcopal in Glen Allen to discuss four potential data center campuses in eastern Goochland. The next morning, a Goochland Circuit Court judge heard the county’s request to dismiss a lawsuit over the technology overlay district that makes those campuses possible. As of Richmond BizSense’s October 22 report, he had not ruled.
Our source is reporter Jackie DiBartolomeo’s article for Richmond BizSense. This is our summary, with local context added, and we do not take a side. More coverage is in our Richmond area news posts.
The court hearing
Four Goochland residents are suing the county over its technology overlay district, or TOD, which the Board of Supervisors approved in a 4-1 vote in early November 2025. Among the allegations, per BizSense, are that county officials failed to lawfully explain the district’s adoption and violated advertisement, notice and public hearing requirements. At the Tuesday, October 20 hearing, Judge Timothy Sanner heard about three hours of argument and took the county’s motion to dismiss under advisement, with no timeline for a decision. The county argues the plaintiffs have not shown particularized harm. The plaintiffs say they own property adjacent to or near the district and allege harms including diminished property values, noise, pollution and traffic. In a statement quoted by BizSense, Goochland County said the plaintiffs dropped four more of their nine original claims at the hearing, leaving three.
The four proposed campuses
BizSense reports the TOD covers roughly 4,400 acres along Route 288 from Interstate 64 south to Patterson Avenue, bordered on the west by Hockett Road, with about 3,500 of those acres in West Creek Business Park. Most uses there are by right, including data centers. In the western portion, called TOD West, a data center needs a conditional use permit. The first project is the 900-megawatt Tuckahoe Technology Park from developer Tract, in TOD West. Tract filed its permit application in August, as BizSense reported then, and as of October 22 the Goochland Planning Commission had not put it on an agenda. The other three, drawn from a July 14 State Corporation Commission filing, are a 1,200-megawatt project south of West Creek Medical Park, a 600-megawatt project on about 150 acres off Ashland Road, and a 200-megawatt project east of Route 288 and north of Patterson Avenue. BizSense says no further details were available on the parties behind those three.
The power question
The filing relates to a Dominion transmission line and substation project of about $98 million that would run 6.5 miles near Route 288 to serve Eli Lilly’s planned pharmaceutical facility and, potentially, data centers. BizSense reports that Dominion’s load queue held roughly 15 years of projects as of March, and that a Dominion employee agreed the 1,200- and 200-megawatt projects are likely near the back of it. Residents at the Glen Allen meeting raised concerns about noise, property values and health, per BizSense.
What it means for Goochland and western Henrico buyers
Nothing here is decided. The lawsuit is pending, the Tuckahoe Technology Park permit has not reached a public hearing, and BizSense reports the other three projects are early. If you are shopping near the district, the practical step is to look at how land near a property is zoned, since a by-right use does not require a conditional use permit and other uses do. The Goochland County website is the official place to find county notices and meetings. Our Goochland County hub and Goochland community page cover the county, and our Glen Allen page covers the Henrico community where the meeting was held. We are not predicting any effect on home values. For larger parcels, our homes with acreage search is a place to start, and our preferred lenders page lists lenders who can answer financing questions.
Browse current Goochland and Richmond-area listings in our property search and save the ones you like.
Related reading: a Goochland rezoning for Main Street Homes and Chesterfield’s data center decision. If you are weighing a move, our buy with us page explains how we work with buyers.
Frequently asked questions
What happened at the October 20 court hearing?
Judge Timothy Sanner heard about three hours of argument on Goochland County’s motion to dismiss the technology overlay district lawsuit and took it under advisement, per BizSense. No decision date was given.
What is the technology overlay district?
A district of roughly 4,400 acres along Route 288, from Interstate 64 south to Patterson Avenue, approved by the Goochland Board of Supervisors in a 4-1 vote in November 2025, per BizSense.
Is a data center allowed there by right?
Per BizSense, data centers are a by-right use in most of the district but require a conditional use permit in TOD West, where Tuckahoe Technology Park is proposed.
How many data centers are proposed?
BizSense discusses four potential campuses: Tuckahoe Technology Park at 900 megawatts, plus projects of 1,200, 600 and 200 megawatts that appear in a July 14 State Corporation Commission filing.
Has Tuckahoe Technology Park been approved?
No. Tract filed a conditional use permit application in August, and as of October 22 BizSense reported it had not been put on a Planning Commission agenda.
How many claims remain in the lawsuit?
Goochland County says three of the original nine claims remain after the plaintiffs dropped four more at the October 20 hearing, per BizSense.
Where can I find official county notices?
On the Goochland County website, which is where the county posts news and meeting information.
