Largest Data Center Project Ever Proposed Is Officially Dead | OilPrice.com

Blackstone-owned QTS Realty Trust withdrew its Virginia Supreme Court appeal on July 2, 2026, officially killing the Prince William Digital Gateway — a proposed 2,100-acre, roughly $100 billion, 37-building/22-million-square-foot campus in Prince William County, VA that would have been the largest data center complex in the world, sited next to Manassas National Battlefield Park. The project's 2023 rezoning was voided by the Virginia Court of Appeals in March 2026 over a public-notice spacing defect; co-developer Compass Datacenters (backed by Brookfield) dropped its own appeal in April, and the county itself withdrew from the litigation after spending nearly $2 million defending the original approval. The piece cites a May 2026 Gallup survey finding 71% of Americans oppose data center construction in their area (48% strongly), and notes Blackstone's broader $150B+ data center portfolio is unaffected by the loss. A strong case study of sustained local/legal opposition defeating a mega-project even after years of developer investment.