QTS has withdrawn its final appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court, effectively terminating the proposed Prince William Digital Gateway data center campus along Pageland Lane near Manassas National Battlefield Park.
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Prince William Digital Gateway
“Compass Datacenters will not appeal the most recent court ruling that killed the rezonings underpinning the development,” the company’s attorney said late Tuesday night, Prince William Times reported. “It’s not known whether QTS, the other data center company involved in the project, will attempt an appeal before the Supreme Court of Virginia.”
The decision by Compass likely ends sales contracts that have kept more than 90 property owners in limbo since 2022, including entire neighborhoods along Pageland Lane in rural Gainesville. The Prince William Digital Gateway proposed up to 37 data centers on about 1,760 acres near Manassas National Battlefield Park. Rezonings approved in 2023 were voided by court rulings over public notice failures, and the county has now dropped its own appeal after spending at least $1.7 million in legal fees.
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The Virginia Court of Appeals has declared three large-scale data-center rezoning ordinances in rural Prince William County void from the outset, delivering a significant setback to the Digital Gateway project and a victory for nearby homeowners who challenged the approvals.
In a unanimous opinion released today by Judge Stuart A. Raphael, the court affirmed that the Board of County Supervisors’ advertising for the December 12–13, 2023, public hearing violated both state law and the county’s own zoning ordinance. The ruling invalidates the Compass, Digital Gateway North (DG North), and Digital Gateway South (DG South) rezonings approved by a 4-3 vote after a 27-hour marathon hearing.
“That is a motion that really needs to be split into two separate motions,” InsideNoVa reported. “Basically, the way it is, because of the weight of it, because it was the same [legal] firm – pure and simple, more than anything, it was a mistake to vote that way. It was a mistake on my end to vote that way.”
“As of Dec. 18, 2025, the total funds spent in the [Digital Gateway] rezoning and real estate assessment litigation is $1,663,478.72,” InsideNoVa [reported], citing a county spokeswoman. “These cases are complex and this number includes the costs for the work of attorneys in the outside counsel law firm, expert witnesses, court reporters and transcripts, costs of preparing and filing the appeals briefs, preparation of the extensive legislative record, etc., spanning more than two years.”
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Go to Top Court Won’t Hear HOA Challenge; Prince William Continues Digital Gateway Appeals
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