QTS confirms its interest in the proposed ‘PW Digital Gateway’ | News | princewilliamtimes.com
Kansas-based firm is the first to reveal plans to acquire land near the Manassas battlefield for a new data center
By Daniel Berti Times Staff Writer Feb 8, 2022
QTS data center on Godwin Drive in Manassas
QTS Realty Trust, Inc., based in Kansas, operates data centers at 28 locations in the U.S. and the Netherlands, including this data center at 9400 Godwin Drive in Manassas.
QTS website
Data center development company QTS Realty Trust, Inc. is “seeking to acquire” 800 acres of land within the proposed “PW Digital Gateway,” according to a QTS spokesman and Prince William County officials.
“QTS has been approached and is seeking to acquire land as part of the Prince William County Digital Gateway project,” a QTS spokesman wrote in a statement to Prince William Times.
The firm, which operates a data center on Godwin Drive in Manassas, is the first to confirm its interest in a controversial proposal to replan about 2,133 acres near the Manassas National Battlefield Park for new data centers.
“This is a unique opportunity to play a role in what could be the most significant economic development initiative in the county’s history. QTS has a strong track record of being a considerate, supportive and sustainable neighbor and is committed to a thoughtful development strategy that will preserve the historical significance and aesthetic beauty of the area,” the statement said.
QTS Realty Trust, Inc is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates data center campuses in 28 locations throughout the United States and the Netherlands. They have a significant data center footprint in Northern Virginia, including the Godwin Drive data center complex in Manassas and several in Ashburn.
The company calls itself “a sustainable energy leader” in the data center industry, pledging to procure 100% of its power requirements from renewable energy sources by 2025, according to its website.
QTS’ proposed development is estimated to create more than 1,000 permanent and temporary jobs over approximately 18 years, with between $4.9 and $7.5 billion in capital investment, said Christina Winn, executive director of the Prince William County Department of Economic Development.
“The Department of Economic Development is always interested in projects that will bring new highly skilled jobs and significant capital investment to expand the county’s commercial tax base. QTS has consistently demonstrated their ability to create jobs and make capital investment throughout Northern Virginia,” Winn said in an emailed statement.
The PW Digital Gateway is a landowner-driven comprehensive plan amendment being pursued by more than 200 individual land and homeowners who live along Pageland Lane in western Prince William County. If approved, the CPA would replan the area to allow data center uses on up to 2,133 acres of land adjacent to Manassas National Battlefield Park.
These four land areas were included in the “Prince William Gateway” comprehensive plan application. Since that application was filed, two entire nearby neighborhoods — Dominique Estates and Catharpin Farm Estates — have filed separate applications asking the county to replan their homes for data centers.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors is expected to vote on the PW Digital Gateway CPA sometime in May. If it’s approved, any data center development there will still require additional rezonings from the county board.
A QTS spokesman said a formal rezoning application from the company “is coming,” but he declined to comment on when it would be filed. Specifics such as building size, height, buffering and other particulars are typically hammered out during the rezoning process and detailed in a proffer agreement, which is legally binding.
“We’re engaging in extensive studies to look at the entirety of this land as a whole because we think we have a really unique opportunity here to be, not only good neighbors, but also stewards of the park,” the spokesman said.
Speaking about viewshed and sound concerns from any potential data centers, he said QTS is “taking all of those things very, very seriously and are factoring all of those into the design plan.”
QTS is seeking the county’s “targeted industry” status, a designation that would “fast-track” the project’s permitting process, Winn said. But that process would begin only after a rezoning application is filed.
The PW Digital Gateway proposal has touched off a wave of opposition from environmental and conservation groups and residents who live in the Gainesville area and are worried about its impact on their community. It’s also drawn fire from former Manassas National Battlefield Park Superintendent Brandon Bies, who called the PW Digital Gateway, “the single greatest threat to the park in three decades.”
Five Democratic members of the eight-member Prince William Board of County Supervisors have either stated their support for the plan or have not made any statement either way. Republican Supervisors Yesli Vega, R-Coles, and Jeanine Lawson, R-Brentsville, have both stated their opposition.
Supervisor Pete Candland, R-Gainesville, lives on Pageland Lane and has joined his neighbors in submitting the PW Digital Gateway application. Candland has thus recused himself from any vote on the plan, meaning only four votes – instead of five – are needed to approve or deny the PW Digital Gateway.
The Prince William County Planning Commission has announced a timeline for the county’s review of the PW Digital Gateway application, saying they expect the plan to reach the planning commission and board of county supervisors in April and May.
Reach Daniel Berti at dberti@fauquier.com