Prince William Digital Gateway
Gainesville / Prince William County, Virginia Approval voided
The county reports that the rezoning approvals (decisions to change how the land may be used) are void. The change to the county’s long-range plan (the “Comprehensive Plan Amendment”) remains in place. With the approvals void, the plan area is not the same as an approved, buildable campus.
- Developer
- QTS / Compass Datacenters (separate applications)
- Operator
- Not named in the listed records
- Stage
- Approval voided, as of August 5, 2026
- Records as of
- November 11, 2026
- Scope
- A planning corridor (a plan area, not one site)
A county update describes the effect of the court order of July 29, 2026.
Source: Prince William County Planning Office, PW Digital Gateway status and applications, August 5, 2026.
Water
Does the disclosed design cool the whole campus this record covers without evaporating water?
Not knownOfficial record
The county page links to the conditions offered in writing for the North and South rezonings (called “proffers”), dated December 10, 2023. Both say all data center buildings will use “air or closed-loop cooling systems”, or “other new, innovative technology”. Both rule out groundwater, surface water withdrawals and surface water discharges for cooling. These words do not say how the heat is released outdoors. So they do not show whether cooling by evaporating water (“evaporative cooling”) is avoided. The file linked for the third application, from Compass, is a letter dated December 11, 2023. It does not mention cooling. A county update of August 5, 2026 says the rezoning approvals are void.
Source: Prince William County Planning Office, PW Digital Gateway status and applications, August 5, 2026.
Is a number public for how much water the site or campus needs or consumes?
Not known
The listed records do not answer this.
Power
Is clean power accounting for this project public, and does it clearly state the matching period?
Not known
The listed records do not answer this.
Generators
Is a final air permit for this project public in the listed records?
Not known
The listed records do not answer this.
Noise
Do the listed records show enforceable noise limits, as numbers, for the site when it runs?
Not knownOfficial record
The county page links to the conditions offered in writing for the North and South rezonings (called “proffers”), dated December 10, 2023. They set the highest allowed sound level at 60 decibels (dBA) by day and 55 dBA at night. Night runs from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, and to 9 a.m. on weekends and holidays. Sound is measured at the edge of land planned, zoned or used for homes or for certain historic sites. Emergency operations are exempt. Both sets of proffers say they are withdrawn and void if the rezoning is not granted as applied for. A county update of August 5, 2026 says the rezoning approvals are void. It says the zoning goes back to what it was before the approvals. The county page does not say whether the proffered limits still apply.
Source: Prince William County Planning Office, PW Digital Gateway status and applications, August 5, 2026.
Costs
Do public records show an adopted tariff or agreement that says who pays the project’s power costs?
Not known
The listed records do not answer this.
Promises
Does a public record show a local land-use decision?
YesOfficial record
The county says the rezoning approvals are void after the court order of July 29, 2026. It says the zoning goes back to what it was before the approvals. It says any future effort to rezone the land would need to go through the normal rezoning application process.
Source: Prince William County Planning Office, PW Digital Gateway status and applications, August 5, 2026.
What is public
Is there a public disclosure or a government record about this project?
YesOfficial record
County records list the plan area, three rezoning applications and related materials. A rezoning application is a request to change how the land may be used.
Source: Prince William County Planning Office, PW Digital Gateway status and applications, August 5, 2026.
Are measured environmental results for the site or campus public, with the dates they cover?
Does not applyOfficial record
This is a planning area, not a site that is running.
Source: Prince William County Planning Office, PW Digital Gateway status and applications, August 5, 2026.
Limits of these records
- The corridor (the plan area) holds separate QTS and Compass applications. It is not one site or a count of all proposed buildings.
- A recorded local decision is not always an approval.
- The rezoning outcome is a status in the land-use process. It is not a finding about environmental performance.
Sources
-
PW Digital Gateway status and applications
The update on the page is dated August 5, 2026. The page lists three rezoning applications: “Digital Gateway North”, “Digital Gateway South” and “Compass Datacenters Prince William County Campus 1”. The name QTS is not on the page itself. It is on the North and South proffer statements that the page links to.