Developer Highland Properties Manassas LLC has withdrawn its plan to build Quantico Ridge, an approximately 160-acre data center in Prince William County, Virginia.

The company withdrew its request to change the zoning of a land parcel at 14854 and 14900 Dumfries Road to Industrial, which was set to be considered at a Prince William Board of County Supervisors meeting yesterday.

Highland Properties Manassas did not provide a reason for the withdrawal. DCD has contacted the company and its manager, Madison Property Management, for comment.

Details about the data center Highland Properties Manassas intended to build are sparse. A staff report about the rezoning request said that the site could “theoretically yield 1.6 to nearly 4 million sq ft (148,645 sqm to 371,612 sqm) of industrial development,” but the site’s capacity and layout remain unknown.

The proposed data center’s proximity to the Prince William Forest Park caused concern among local conservationist groups.

“This data center plan includes a carveout for a one-million-square-foot data center campus, equivalent to five Walmart Supercenters, directly adjacent to Prince William Forest Park. Data centers do not belong near our national parks,” said the Prince William Conservation Alliance in a May 8 press release.

It is unclear whether Highland Properties Manassas will resubmit its proposal.

Prince William County is part of Northern Virginia, home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers.

The county is currently embroiled in a legal battle with data center developer QTS, which is challenging a decision by the Virginia Supreme Court that upheld a ruling saying that the zoning for the company’s proposed data center – a 2,100-acre campus called the PW Digital Gateway – was invalid.

Highland Properties Manassas' portfolio consists of residential and commercial properties. The company's website does not list any previous data center or industrial projects in its portfolio.