PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — QTS terminated the Digital Gateway data center project and withdrew its legal challenge at the Virginia Supreme Court on July 2, 2026. The withdrawal followed court reversals and community opposition to the project.

The proposed Digital Gateway campus was to be located near Gainesville in Prince William County along Pageland Lane, adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park. The project plan included over 22 million square feet of data centers spread across 2,000 acres.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved the rezoning for the Digital Gateway project in December 2023. However, Prince William Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Irving ruled the Digital Gateway rezonings void in August 2025. Judge Irving stated the rezonings were void due to improper public notice ahead of the county's 27-hour hearing and vote.

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld the August 2025 ruling on March 31, 2026. Prior to QTS's withdrawal, Compass and Prince William County also withdrew from the Digital Gateway legal cases earlier in 2026; QTS was building the Digital Gateway project with Compass.

The Coalition to Protect Prince William commented on the outcome, stating, "The Arc of Justice bent hard in our favor – QTS has OFFICIALLY withdrawn from the lawsuit." The organization added, "As we head into this very special 250th anniversary of our democracy, the rule of law and the common man have prevailed." The QTS legal team stated, "After careful consideration, QTS has made the decision to terminate the Digital Gateway project and withdraw its associated filings." The legal team also noted, "The project advanced through years of planning, analysis, and public review, and was approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors following a rigorous process." They added, "As proposed, 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." QTS cited its investments in Northern Virginia and the Richmond region, including $5 billion in Central Virginia.

Why It Matters

The termination of the Digital Gateway project concludes a multi-year effort to develop a large-scale data center campus in Prince William County, Virginia. The project had faced legal challenges from groups including the Oak Valley Homeowners Association and the American Battlefield Trust, culminating in court rulings that found the initial rezoning process to be improper. This outcome follows a pattern of local and appeals court decisions that have reversed earlier approvals for the development.