Dominion wants to construct a monopole at the Lincolnia pool for a data center
The Lincolnia Park community is alarmed by Dominion Energy’s plans to build an electrical transmission tower on a field owned by the Lincolnia Park Recreation Club. The utility is threatening to use eminent domain to obtain rights to the property.
Dominion says the project is associated with a proposed substation to serve Starwood Capital’s planned data centers at Plaza 500 on Edsall Road. The Fairfax County Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on the substation on Dec. 2.
Leaders of the Lincolnia Park Civic Association (LPCA) and Lincolnia Park Recreation Club (LPRC) are confused about why their neighborhood is being targeted because the LPRC field, at 6501 Montrose St., is not near Plaza 500 or any substation large enough to serve a data center.
“Thus far, Dominion has not engaged with the community or informed us of their intent,” said LPCA President Karl Ensign. “Instead, Dominion’s communication to LPRC has taken the form of letters threatening eminent domain.”
In July, Jacqulyn Lane, a real estate specialist with Dominion Energy Electric Transmission, sent a letter to LPRC’s post office box stating, “The Company or its agents may need to enter your property for the purpose of making surveys, tests, appraisals, or examinations of the property to determine the suitability of the property for the Project.”
It says “the project” involves building a new substation, new overhead electric transmission structures, and a proposed 100-foot right-of-way, less than one mile long for the Edsall substation. “The Substation Interconnects involve building two new data centers on one site and necessary network upgrades to tie a 176 MW capacity into the Dominion transmission network in Alexandria,” the letter continues. “This station will tap off the 230-kV Line 210 near Van Dorn and extend to the new Edsall Substation.”
Related story: Community members speak out against a substation at Plaza 500
LPRC President Ingrid Torres-McCullough did not sign off on the letter allowing Dominion on the field, which is located between the swimming pool and Holmes Middle School.
The letter informs the LPRC that if they do not give permission, Dominion or its subcontractors will enter their property anyway, as permitted by Virginia Code § 25.1-203. That law allows the use of eminent domain for surveys and testing on private property without permission.
A Dominion contractor subsequently conducted geotechnical and soil resistivity testing next to the volleyball court in the middle of the field.
The State Corporation Commission has already approved a high-voltage transmission line with towers 123 feet tall just 67 feet from homes in the Bren Pointe community that would connect the proposed substation next to the Edsall data centers to the Van Dorn substation. The data center complex is a by-right project and doesn’t need to be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
The only thing that could possibly hold back that project is if the Planning Commission rejects the substation. Lincolnia Park residents are expected to join residents of Bren Mar Park and throughout Fairfax County in speaking out against the substation at the Dec. 2 hearing.
Since the field isn’t near the Edsall Road data center, “we’re having a really hard time figuring out what they want from that property,” said Greg Mariano, a member of the LPCA Executive Board.
“While a transmission route through our neighborhood and LPRC to serve the substation makes little sense to us given the geography, Dominion seems to be seriously considering it,” Mariano said.
It isn’t known whether or how many other monopoles would be constructed in the neighborhood, he says, as “Dominion has not been transparent in their plans.”
Torres-McCullough and Ensign sent a letter to Dominion asking why they are interested in the LPRC property.
“LPRC does not consent to the acquisition of new permanent utility easements, the establishment of a transmission right-of-way, or the installation of any new Dominion electrical infrastructure on our property for this project,” the letter states. “We also oppose new overhead high-voltage transmission lines through the surrounding residential neighborhoods.”
Related story: Planning Commission defers hearing on substation
The Lincolnia Park leaders also reached out to Mason Planning Commissioner Alis Wang and members of the Board of Supervisors seeking more information.
The eight-acre field is used for recreation, sports, and community events, such as an upcoming Halloween parade. Ensign said the civic and recreation associations have been discussing improvement projects for that property for years, including an additional swimming pool for competitions or a soccer field.
He is worried that if a large electrical structure is built there, it would discourage people from joining the pool, which has long been the “heart and soul of the community.” The pool currently has 450 members, but might not survive if a monopole is constructed, Torres-McCullough added.
“Who would want to barbecue, play, and swim under something so threatening? And the high transmission lines to and from this site would travel over our neighborhood as well,” Ensign said.
“We have very real fears we’re trying to get to the bottom of,” he said. “Our beloved recreational facilities and land are now fundamentally at risk for the interests of Dominion.”