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QTS and Compass: The Digital Gateway, the Largest Data Center Project Ever Proposed, and How Residents Killed It

QTS and Compass Datacenters were the developers behind the Prince William Digital Gateway, more than 22 million square feet on roughly 2,000 acres beside the Manassas battlefield. Residents and preservationists sued over the rezoning in January 2024, a judge voided it in August 2025 for defective public notice, the Court of Appeals affirmed in March 2026, Compass dropped its appeal in April, and QTS withdrew its final appeal on July 2, 2026 and terminated the project. The record.

By the SueDataCenters.org editorial teamUpdated 6 min read Sourced to court records and primary reporting
Overhead view of a broad corridor of open farm fields, pasture and woodlots along a rural two-lane road, bordered by protected parkland to the south.

Digital Gateway rezoning corridor in Gainesville, Virginia, photographed 2023-10-11. The Pageland Lane corridor beside Manassas National Battlefield Park. The rezonings covering these 2,139 acres were voided and the final appeal withdrawn in July 2026, so what the frame shows is what remains.

USDA Farm Service Agency / USGS National Map, National Agriculture Imagery Program. Cropped from NAIP 0.6 m aerial imagery, scene m_3807712_ne_18_060_20231011. (original)

QTS and Compass Datacenters on the tracker

Tracker entries
One: the Prince William Digital Gateway litigation, concluded, plaintiff win
The project
More than 22 million square feet of data centers on roughly 2,000 acres along Pageland Lane near the Manassas battlefield, for QTS and Compass Datacenters
Outcome
Rezonings voided August 2025; affirmed March 31, 2026; Compass and the county exited April 2026; QTS withdrew its Supreme Court of Virginia appeal July 2, 2026 and said it was terminating the project
Other footprint
QTS operates across Northern Virginia and Arizona and has existing facilities exempted from York County, South Carolina's 2026 moratorium; Compass develops nationally

Key Takeaways

  • QTS and Compass Datacenters were the developers of the Prince William Digital Gateway, the largest data center project ever proposed, and the only project on the tracker that litigation has definitively killed.
  • The case was won on procedure: Circuit Judge Kimberly Irving voided the December 2023 rezonings in August 2025 because the public notice for the hearing was legally defective, and the Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed on March 31, 2026.
  • The coalition defending the project dissolved in stages: Compass dropped its appeal and Prince William County exited in April 2026, and QTS withdrew its appeal at the Supreme Court of Virginia on July 2, 2026, stating it had decided to terminate the project.
  • The plaintiffs were the American Battlefield Trust, Oak Valley residents, and allied groups, who filed within weeks of the approvals, which is why they were in court before the deadlines closed.
  • It is the proof every community cites that notice and procedural defects can stop even the biggest, best-funded project.
In this article

QTS and Compass Datacenters are on the tracker for one project, and it is the biggest one there is. The Prince William Digital Gateway would have put more than 22 million square feet of data centers on roughly 2,000 acres along Pageland Lane in Virginia, beside the Manassas battlefield. In January 2024, weeks after the county approved the rezonings, the American Battlefield Trust, Oak Valley residents, and allied groups sued. In August 2025, Circuit Judge Kimberly Irving voided the approvals because the public notice for the hearing was legally defective. The Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed on March 31, 2026. Compass dropped its appeal and the county walked away in April. On July 2, 2026, QTS withdrew its final appeal at the Supreme Court of Virginia and said it was terminating the project. No other data center project on the tracker has been ended by a lawsuit, and none was bigger.

Every case on the tracker

  • Plaintiff winVirginia
    The Prince William Digital Gateway Lawsuit: How a Notice Defect Voided the World's Biggest Data Center Project

    Concluded: rezonings void, final appeal withdrawn July 2, 2026

    Preservationists and Oak Valley residents sued Prince William County in January 2024 over the Digital Gateway rezonings. A circuit judge voided the approvals on defective public notice, the Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed, Compass and the county walked away, and on July 2, 2026 QTS withdrew its final appeal at the Supreme Court of Virginia and said it was terminating the project. Full history and what it teaches every community fighting a data center.

Every QTS and Compass Datacenters site in the registry

44 sites on the public record in 22 states: 18 operating, 13 under construction, 3 permitted, 8 proposed, 2 cancelled. 6 carry documented opposition or litigation. 6.7 GW planned. Most contested first.

29 more in the full registry, or download the data and filter by company.

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How the largest project in the world died on a notice

The Digital Gateway plaintiffs never had to prove the project would harm anyone. They proved the county had not given legally sufficient public notice of the hearing at which it was approved, and under Virginia law that made the approvals void. Every subsequent step, the affirmance, Compass's withdrawal, the county's exit after spending more than $400,000 on outside counsel, and QTS's termination, followed from that one defect. Our full report on the Digital Gateway case has the complete history.

The case is why Joliet, Grayslake, and Wilmington are all notice cases, and why the first thing a land use lawyer pulls in any data center fight is the published notice and the mailing list.

QTS and Compass elsewhere

Both companies continue to build. QTS operates across Northern Virginia and Arizona, and its existing facilities were specifically exempted when York County, South Carolina adopted a nine month moratorium in July 2026, as our moratorium tracker records. Compass develops nationally. Neither faces another suit on the tracker. If a project by either is proposed near you, the Digital Gateway is the case to cite at the first hearing, and our guide to fighting a proposed data center covers what to check. Our free case review connects you with an independent attorney in our network who handles data center cases in your state, at no cost and with no obligation.

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Frequently asked questions

What happened to the QTS Digital Gateway data center project?

It is dead. A Prince William County circuit judge voided the rezonings in August 2025 for defective public notice, the Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed on March 31, 2026, Compass Datacenters and the county exited in April 2026, and QTS withdrew its appeal at the Supreme Court of Virginia on July 2, 2026, stating it had decided to terminate the project.

Who sued over the Prince William Digital Gateway?

The American Battlefield Trust, residents of the Oak Valley neighborhood, and allied groups filed suit in January 2024 challenging Prince William County's December 2023 rezoning approvals for the project.

How big was the Digital Gateway data center project?

More than 22 million square feet of data center development planned on roughly 2,000 acres along Pageland Lane near the Manassas battlefield, for QTS and Compass Datacenters. It was described as the largest proposed data center project in the world.

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