QTS Datacenters, which is developing 876 acres in the corridor, said it plans to build 16 to 18 buildings in its portion of the project, while Compass Datacenters LLC is planning 12 to 16 data centers in a similarly sized sector. Together, the buildings would comprise about 19 to 20 million square feet of data center space, according to officials from both companies.

Though slightly shorter than the 75-foot buildings initially proposed closest to the battlefield, the 70-foot heigh continues to exceed the 45-foot limit county supervisors set last fall. The building heights are significant because they could impact what visitors to the battlefield see from the park if the data center corridor receives the rezoning approval it needs to move forward.

The comprehensive plan for the park allows height limits to be exceeded if viewshed analyses show the structures will not be seen from the park. QTS’s earlier filings did not contain such analyses, but the new one does.

Whether QTS’s latest proposal will satisfy battlefield and county officials is unclear. An acting battlefield superintendent objected strenuously in a March letter to then-proposed 75-foot buildings. Since then, a new superintendent, Kristofer Butcher, has been appointed but could not be reached for comment.

The slightly shorter buildings and the new analyses likely will not satisfy the National Parks Conservation Association, a Washington D.C. nonprofit that advocates for the parks and has opposed the data corridor from the start.

“NPCA’s position has been and will be, if you can see them from the park, if you can hear them from the park or if you can see any activities associated with them, including construction, substations, etcetera, we will continue to oppose this project,” said Kyle Hart, NPCA’s mid-Atlantic field representative.

In its latest application, QTS released visual analyses that indicate the structures will not be seen from most of 15 points on the battlefield they checked as part of a new viewshed analysis. But in several cases, the buildings or adjacent electric substations would require screening not to be seen.

For instance, from the historic “boundary tree” in a northwestern corner of the park, nothing but 1,250 feet of open field separates visitors from four data center buildings depicted as 70 feet tall and an electric substation with 75-foot towers. QTS proposes planting 15-foot-tall evergreens in that open field, which its drawings show would hide the substation and data center from the view.

The analysis says the vegetation also will screen the view of the substation from another point near the Brawner Farm Interpretive Center, about a half-mile from the buildings.

But not everyone thinks this plan will work. James Bailey, the former acting park superintendent who wrote the letter critical of 75-foot-tall buildings, said he had seen an earlier version of the viewshed analysis with evergreen tree screening, but is skeptical.

“They said, (they’re) going to plant all of these fast-growing pine trees, which isn’t sustainable. They’re a kind of landscaping pines; they’re not native,” he said. “They showed the picture of here’s what it looks like when they’ve grown, (saying), ‘You know, after many, many years, you won’t be able to see the building at all.’ And they conveniently did not show the slide that showed what it is going to look like when the trees first go in.”

“If you did a viewshed analysis standing at that point, you would see it would be impossible to build essentially the entire QTS Digital Gateway south without negative impact on Park Service property,” he said.

Timing of rezoning vote debated

QTS officials said Friday, April 28 they hope to have their application reviewed by the Prince William County supervisors before the board goes on its August recess. But some opponents of the project say the vote should wait until after the November election to allow voters to weigh in.

Board Chair Ann Wheeler, D-At Large, who generally supports the new data center corridor because of the tax revenue it’s expected to generate, said April 28 she was not aware QTS had requested a vote before the August break. Wheeler said the board will consider the rezoning applications only after county staff completes its review.

“My understanding is that we are still in the middle of the process,” Wheeler said in a text message. “I don’t have a preference (for) when we hear it, but it does have to be ready in order to hear it.”

County spokesperson Nikki Brown said in an email that the county would send QTS’s latest rezoning submission out to affected agencies for comment, and they would have 45 days to respond. Whether a fourth submission is needed would depend on the comments and whether the staff thinks the application is ready to go to the planning commission.

QTS and Compass signed contracts in late 2021 with more than 100 property owners, including former Gainesville supervisor Pete Candland, pledging to buy their land for $350,000 to $950,000 an acre if three rezonings for the PW Digital Gateway are approved.

Those property owners have been vocal supporters of the PW Digital Gateway, while residents in neighboring areas, including Heritage Hunt, an over-55 retirement community in Gainesville, have led a forceful opposition.

Some elected officials and candidates are similarly opposed to the project, including Deshundra Jefferson, a Democrat who is challenging Wheeler in the June 20 Democratic primary.

Supervisor Bob Weir, R-Gainesville, a PW Digital Gateway opponent who won his seat in a February special election after Candland resigned, said he believes the rezoning vote should wait until after the Nov. 7 general election.

“I don’t think (the vote) should happen in that window between the primary and the general election, especially if certain people lose their primaries,” Weir said.

Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, R-Brentsville, who is vying for the Republican nomination to run against Jefferson or Wheeler in November, released a statement Monday saying, in part, “It is clear the public boldly rejects QTS and Compass’s rezoning proposals.”

Jill Palermo contributed to this story. Reach the writers at news@fauquier.com