Data Center Feasibility Study in Virginia

Rank 14 nationally, yet small loans

Virginia stands high among states for SBA data center loans, though the loans are not what the phrase suggests. SBA approved 26 of them between FY2017 and FY2026, totalling $8.9 million, which puts the state 14 of 52. The location quotient of 1.57x reads as data centers weighing more in Virginia approvals than in the national book, but the median loan is just $118,000, 0.57x the national median. Inside the state the class sits 19 of 39. A reader should weigh the small median before assuming large facilities.

Loan sizes and programs

The central band of loans stretches from $100,000 to $349,750, and 24 of the 26 loans used SBA 7(a) against 2 under SBA 504. Franchise brands account for 7.7%. By year, the count was zero in FY2017, FY2020 and FY2023, and rose to 5 in FY2019, 5 in FY2024, 6 in FY2025 and 5 in FY2026. The upturn in recent years is real in the filings, but with such small cohorts a reader should hold the trend lightly.

Who holds the loans, and where

Six 7(a) loans each sit with Newtek Bank, National Association ($1.1 million) and Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company ($770,000); the page shows the present holder as SBA reports it, not a lending policy. Loudoun County has 10 loans, Stafford 5, and Alexandria City, Fairfax and Henrico 2 each. Virginia data centers show no cancellation or charge-off percentage, because Loan Analytics presents a rate only when the cohort holds at least 30 loans, and an empty slot must not be read as nil. One coding limit matters here: colocation buildings share their industry code with other data processing and hosting businesses.

What a Virginia facility study must settle

A study for a data center in Virginia has to begin with power: the utility's capacity and queue, the cost per kilowatt, and the timing of any interconnection. It then tests the tenant side, because colocation income rests on long leases with a few customers, and an empty hall earns nothing. Cooling and water, fibre routes, zoning that may restrict height, noise or generators, and the construction schedule all feed the budget. Lender coverage math needs a case where the halls are only partly leased, and an appraiser will treat the income stream and the specialised building differently, so the study should keep them distinct. Typical loans near $118,000 point to small operators needing a far lighter analysis.