QTS ends Virginia Digital Gateway data center project

A major data center project in Virginia, which would have been the world's largest such campus, has been terminated after years of legal battles and community opposition. QTS, a data center operator owned by the investment giant Blackstone, confirmed on Thursday, July 2, that it is withdrawing from the Digital Gateway project in Prince William County and ending its legal appeal.

The project, planned for approximately 2,100 acres near the historic Manassas National Battlefield Park, would have spanned more than 22 million square feet with as many as 37 buildings. It was approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in December 2023 following a marathon 27-hour public hearing. However, that approval was almost immediately challenged in court by local homeowners and preservation groups.

The legal challenge centered on a procedural error: the county failed to separate two required public notices for the key zoning hearing by at least six days. A circuit court judge ruled the rezoning void last August, and the Virginia Court of Appeals unanimously upheld that ruling in March. With the project's co-developer, Compass Datacenters, having withdrawn in May, QTS became the...