GIRLS LACROSSE: 10-1 Battlefield looks primed for another deep postseason run. PAGE 11
May 4, 2023 | Vol. 22, No. 18 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Latest Digital Gateway plan pitches 28 to 34 data centers 70-foot buildings close to the battlefield spark concern By Peter Cary
Piedmont Journalism Foundation
Developers seeking a rezoning to build the Prince William Digital Gateway, a 2,100-acre data center corridor proposed for formerly protected agricultural land north and west of Manassas National Battlefield Park, released more specifics in recent days, including that they want to build 28 to 34 data centers ranging in height from 70 to more than 90 feet. QTS Datacenters, which is developing 876 acres in the corridor, said
SUBMITTED
An artist’s rendering of a QTS data center planned for the PW Digital Gateway. 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. QTS filed a third and possibly final reiteration of its rezoning application on April 28. In proffers accompanying the application, the company said its building heights would range from 70 to 93 feet with the shorter buildings slated for areas closest to the battlefield. Though slightly shorter than the 75-foot buildings initially proposed, the heights continue to exceed the 45-foot limit county supervisors set last fall for areas closest to the battlefield. The building heights are significant because they could impact what visitors to the battlefield see from the park if the data center cor-
ridor 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. See GATEWAY, page 5
High school suicide awareness walk marches on
PHOTO BY MIKE BEATY
Forest Park High School students led a walk in drizzly rain during the 2022 event, the first after a two-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now in its 7th year, Forest Park event continues to grow By Anya Sczerzenie Times Staff Writer
Two years after coming back from COVID-19-related cancellations, Forest Park High School’s annual Suicide Prevention Walk has grown to be much larger than former teacher Shannon Geraghty originally anticipated. “It’s run by Forest Park, but this is the Prince William County walk now,” Geraghty said.
The walk was started by Geraghty and her students when she worked as a U.S. government teacher. Each year, Geraghty challenged her students to pick an issue and organize an event that would involve elected officials and perhaps inspire policy changes. The idea was to introduce them to civic engagement and show them how they could make a difference.
Board of Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler (D)
Deshundra Jefferson (D)
Supervisor Jeanine Lawson (R)
Ken Knarr (R)
Wheeler outraises 3 opponents County chair’s top donors are unions, data center interests
In 2015, a student who experienced a suicide in her own family came up with the idea of a suicide prevention or awareness walk. It was the first such walk in the U.S. hosted by a high school. There have been others since, but none in Prince William County because the Forest Park High School walk is so popular.
Ann Wheeler, the incumbent chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, raised more than $131,000 for re-election campaign during the first three months of 2023 – more than all three of her opponents combined. The contributions came from labor unions, real estate developers and organizations and individuals with ties to data centers, according to campaign finance reports.
See MARCH, page 2
See DONORS, page 4
What’s next for Olde Towne Inn? See page 3
By Anya Sczerzenie Times Staff Writer
Swan Lake is coming to the Hylton Performing Arts Center See page 7
88 DULLES, VA