South Central Virginia

South Central Virginia is bordered by Lake Gaston, Buggs Island Lake, and the state of North Carolina, and includes 10 counties (Amelia, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Greensville, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward) and the City of Emporia. South Central Virginia boasts strong infrastructure to go with that strategic location — both physical (interstates 85 and 95 run through the region) and virtual (extensive fiber broadband). The latter has attracted major technology companies to the region — Microsoft opened a data center in Mecklenburg County in 2010 and has since expanded the facility six times. 

Learn more about South Central Virginia in Virginia Economic Review

• I-85 and I-95 run through the region, and six other major interstates are within close proximity: I-64 (11 miles), I-295 (17 miles), I-195 (20 miles), I-81 (33 miles), I-40 (40 miles), and I-440 (48 miles).
• U.S. Highway 58 is an east-west mainly 4-lane corridor that provides access to The Port of Virginia to the east and Virginia’s mountains to the west.
• U.S. Highway 360 runs from Danville through South Boston to Richmond, and continues to the eastern Northern Neck.
• Freight rail service is provided by CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern, Virginia Southern Railway and the Buckingham Branch Railroad.
• The Port of Virginia, offering the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast, is one hour east and easily accessible via road or rail.
• The Port of Richmond, a multimodal freight and distribution center, is located 60 miles north along I-95.
• Eight regional airports offer general aviation services, and commercial air service with nonstop flights to domestic destinations is available from Richmond InternationalAirport (RIC–50 miles), and Norfolk International Airport (ORF–90 miles), and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (80 miles).

Home to nationally ranked Longwood University, Hampden-Sydney College, and Southside Virginia Community College, the area’s workforce is well-educated. The high-quality public education system includes a curriculum based on both academics and technical skills, producing work-ready graduates.

Today, the Commonwealth boasts the largest data center market in the U.S. with more than 700 data processing, hosting, and related establishments employing over 12,140 Virginians. Since 2008, more than $203 billion of capital investment has been announced Virginia’s data center industry, which attracts many of the most prominent brands in the tech world. Microsoft’s continued investment in its Mecklenburg County enterprise data center is a powerful success story for Southern Virginia’s visionary planning, world-class IT infrastructure, and skilled workforce.