Blackstone-controlled QTS drops Prince William County data center campus project plans.

Blackstone-backed QTS Realty Trust has abandoned plans to develop an 800-plus-acre data center campus in Prince William County, Virginia, marking another setback for the region's long-running Digital Gateway initiative. According to Bloomberg News sources, QTS plans to notify the court of its decision as early as this week, after company executives determined that continuing the legal fight was no longer worthwhile.

Blackstone Infrastructure Partners and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust acquired QTS in a $10 billion deal in 2021, subsequently taking the company private and delisting it from the New York Stock Exchange. The proposed Prince William County campus faced years of opposition from local homeowners and environmental groups, with development delayed by legal challenges involving land preservation. The project also drew significant public scrutiny during county hearings.

The decision represents another hurdle for Digital Gateway, one of Northern Virginia's most closely watched data center initiatives. It follows a recent sale by Blackstone-affiliated funds of an interest in three fully leased Northern Virginia data centers to Digital Realty, a portfolio that includes two facilities in Manassas and one at the Digital Dulles campus in Sterling.

The withdrawal reflects broader headwinds for large-scale data center expansion in the region. Brookfield-backed Compass Datacenters withdrew from a separate 800-plus-acre project in the same area in May, amid growing community concerns over the impact of large-scale AI data center development on electricity infrastructure and housing affordability.