George Washington University is trading lecture halls for Amazon server racks in Northern Virginia.
The university sold its 122-acre Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Loudoun County to Amazon Data Services for $427.3 million, or roughly $3.5 million per acre, according to the GW Hatchet, an independent student newspaper. The buyer plans to redevelop the site into a data or information technology center, adding another large tract to Amazon’s ever-expanding footprint in a data center mecca.
The deal allows GW to remain on the Ashburn property for up to five years as it relocates programs, including its School of Nursing. University officials said the proceeds will be placed into a quasi-endowment to fund strategic initiatives, not to backstop debt at its medical enterprise…