Second QTS data center meeting canceled (potomaclocal.com)
The second scheduled public meeting about a proposal to build 20 data centers on 876 acres near the Manassas National Battlefield was canceled late today.
QTS, the firm proposing the complex, announced the cancelation of the public meeting scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Haymarket. It’s the second time in two weeks that a public meeting for the proposed data center complex is scheduled in western Prince William County.
The Coalition to Protect Prince William, a conservation group that opposed data centers in the county’s rural areas, scheduled a press conference and demonstration before the event.
“QTS is disappointed that as a result of the planned disruption by a small group of opponents, the event venue was compelled to cancel. As a result, community members have been deprived of the opportunity to learn more about the project’s enormous benefits to the county,” said QTS spokesman Nick DeSarno.
QTS held a similar meeting on April 25 at a hotel in Woodbridge, where it showed plans for its data centers project, one of two proposed for the Prince William Digital Gateway.
The first public meeting about the proposal was scheduled for April 18 at Bull Run Middle School near Gainesville. However, that meeting was also canceled hours before it was to begin.
The Coalition to Protect Prince William County celebrated the public meeting’s cancelation. “Hundreds of citizens were ready to turn out today to protect our homes, our history, our natural resources, and the reliability of our electrical grid. QTS is not welcome here. No matter when they plan to reschedule – we will show up,” Executive Director Elena Schlossberg said.
DeSarno said the firm, which operates a data center near Manassas, will seek out additional opportunities for public engagement for its latest project.
Today, we published an exclusive report on one element of the proposed project, which aims to reconstruct Pageland Lane, widening the quiet two-lane street to a four-lane thoroughfare capable of accommodating 22,000 cars daily.
Pageland Lane was key to building a bi-county parkway between Dumfries and Dulles International Airport.