A plan to build the world’s largest data center complex next to the Manassas National Battlefield Park is dead — killed by homeowners, preservationists and a string of court defeats.
QTS Data Centers confirmed Thursday that it formally withdrew an April 30 appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court after “careful consideration” of ways to keep the 2,100-acre PW Digital Gateway alive.
County officials and fellow developer Compass Datacenters previously withdrew after a three-judge panel of the Virginia Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a circuit court ruling that the Prince William Board of County Supervisors failed to give homeowners the legally required timely notice of a key rezoning vote.
“We deeply appreciate the relationships we’ve built with community stakeholders throughout this process and remain grateful for the collaboration and dialogue that have shaped our engagement,” QTS said in a public filing shared with The Washington Times.
“The company will proceed with a responsible and orderly termination of project activities, consistent with our commitments and values as a company and community partner.”
The Sterling, Virginia, company did not explain its decision. It insisted the project “would have delivered significant infrastructure investment to Prince William County, including tens of billions of dollars in capital investment, substantial annual local tax revenues to support public services, and thousands of long-term jobs.”
The project sought to build 37 data centers on 22 million square feet of land west of the battlefield, which commemorates the two Civil War battles of Bull Run. The footprint would have been roughly the size of 144 Walmart supercenters.
Homeowners and preservationists who sued to stop the data centers claimed victory on Friday.
“The project is dead,” said attorney Chap Petersen, a former state Democratic lawmaker representing the American Battlefield Trust in court. “Both developers have withdrawn their applications, and the rezoning is void.”
Mac Haddow, president of the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, which filed the other lawsuit with 11 residents, said the victory belonged to those who spent hours voicing outrage at public meetings.
“This case was never about opposing data centers,” Mr. Haddow said. “Our objection has always been directed at the arrogance of multinational, billion-dollar corporations that too often treat surrounding communities as obstacles to overcome instead of neighbors to respect.”
Northern Virginia has become ground zero in a growing conflict between revenue-hungry public officials and homeowners as artificial intelligence drives national demand for data storage.
Under then-Chair Ann Wheeler, the Democrat-led Board of County Supervisors narrowly approved rezoning the land on a party-line vote in December 2023. Oak Valley and the battlefield trust filed separate lawsuits a month later.
Last August, Virginia Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Irving ordered supervisors to redo the grueling 27-hour public hearing. They appealed instead.
The appeals court sided with Oak Valley on March 31. It also cleared the way for the other lawsuit from the American Battlefield Trust and a coalition of homeowners to proceed to trial.
April’s 11th-hour filing from QTS blamed The Washington Post for publishing rezoning notices on dates that differed from the county clerk’s request, plus argued the county took extensive additional steps to notify residents.
Craig Blakeley, an attorney representing Oak Valley in court, described the case as “a David vs. Goliath” ordeal. He noted that Prince William supervisors spent $1.7 million on outside legal counsel to defend the project before voting in a closed-door session on April 14 to give up.
“The data center developers had even more financial resources,” Mr. Blakely said. “But we were able to penetrate their cloud of confusion.”
It remains unclear whether the gateway’s demise will end data center development in the Democrat-led county.
Supervisor Victor S. Angry, a Neabsco District Democrat who previously championed the gateway, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Nor did Supervisor Kenny Boddye, an Occoquan Democrat who supported a party-line vote in November 2022 that redesignated the land.
Elena Schlossberg, executive director of the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, which formed to oppose the project, said the issue is far from dead.
“We are still concerned other proposals could be approved,” said Ms. Schlossberg, a Haymarket resident.
Board Chair Deshundra Jefferson, who defeated Ms. Wheeler in a Democratic primary, has joined Republicans in opposing data centers.
But Prince William County spokeswoman Nicole Brown said the board cannot comment on the QTS decision.
“Until the Virginia Supreme Court and/or Court of Appeals issues a final order in this matter, it is still considered pending litigation,” Ms. Brown said.
Data scientist Subodha Kumar, director of Temple University’s Center for Business Analytics and Disruptive Technologies, said the gateway’s demise is unlikely to stop future developments.
“The underlying economic drivers have not disappeared,” Mr. Kumar said. “Developers will likely continue pursuing projects in Prince William County, but they are likely to focus on sites with stronger infrastructure, clearer zoning and broader community acceptance rather than attempting to revive highly contentious proposals.”
