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Court blocks Digital Gateway data center project in Prince William County
A major data center project in Prince William County has been halted after a Virginia appeals court ruled the approval process was flawed and upheld residents’ right to challenge it.
MANASSAS PARK, VA. - Data center developer Quality Technology Services (QTS) has officially dropped its appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court, effectively terminating plans for a massive 2,100-acre data center complex adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park, opponents announced Thursday.
The decision by the Blackstone Inc. subsidiary ends a highly contested, years-long legal battle over the Prince William Digital Gateway project, which would have been the largest data center complex in the world, according to previous FOX 5 D.C. reporting.
The move leaves the lower court's ruling intact, blocking the project as sought by a coalition of local residents, homeowners associations and historic preservation groups who argued the development threatened the area's historic and environmental landscape.
READ MORE: Prince William County residents sue over plan to develop major data center
From board approval to July withdrawal
Timeline:
The legal resolution follows a March 31 ruling by the Virginia Court of Appeals, which unanimously agreed with a lower court that Prince William County's consideration of the data center rezoning was fundamentally flawed, thereby voiding the approvals.
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Digital Gateway data center project heads into final vote
Supporters and opponents of the Prince William Digital Gateway project gathered in Woodbridge for a public hearing as the controversial plan to build data centers in the region moves forward.
While the Prince William County Board of Supervisors and co-developer Compass previously declined further appeals in April, QTS had pushed forward until filing its notice of withdrawal on July 2.
"Truth and accountability prevailed today," Attorney Chap Petersen, who represented local residents and the American Battlefield Trust in the litigation, said in a statement.
The battle began after the Board of Supervisors previously voted to approve the rezoning, prompting lawsuits from the American Battlefield Trust, the Oak Valley Homeowners Association and citizen plaintiffs.
Opponents highlighted the county's nearly $2 million in taxpayer-funded legal expenditures used to defend the rezoning before the board ultimately withdrew its defense on April 14.
What's next:
With the project officially canceled, preservationists are turning their attention toward long-term land management for the area, a press release stated.
American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan stated that the group now hopes to collaborate with county officials, residents and landowners to find conservation-friendly solutions to protect the historic Pageland Lane corridor.
The Source: Information from The Coalition to Protect Prince William County, the American Battlefield Trust and previous FOX 5 D.C. reporting.