Dulles South Innovation Center (Sanders Lane)
Also called: Dulles Cloud South
Developers wanted to change the county plan to allow a data center campus of about 2,000 acres along Sanders Lane near the Loudoun County line. It was outside the county's data center zone. After a five-hour hearing, supervisors voted 8-0 to deny it.
Where things stand: Supervisors voted unanimously to deny the needed plan change in July 2026.
🕒 Latest update (July 7, 2026): Board of County Supervisors voted 8-0 to deny the comprehensive plan change.
What we know
- 📍 WhereAlong Sanders Lane, Gainesville District, near the Loudoun County line, Prince William County, Prince William County
- 🌳 Size2,000 acres
What happened so far
- July 7, 2026Board of County Supervisors voted 8-0 to deny the comprehensive plan change.
Local votes and rules
🗺️ Zoning change
Supervisors unanimously shrank the Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District from about 9,700 to 3,500 acres. Most new data centers will now need a special use permit with a public hearing. Projects already filed get a 90-day grace period.
✋ Turned down
Supervisors voted 8-0 to reject a land-use plan change for the Dulles South Innovation Center, a proposed campus of about 43 million square feet of data centers on 1,940 acres of homes and farms near Sanders Lane (Gainesville District).
⚖️ Court case
Neighbors sued over the county's December 2023 rezoning for the 2,100-acre Prince William Digital Gateway. A judge voided it because the newspaper notices were not spaced far enough apart, and the Court of Appeals agreed on March 31, 2026. The county stopped defending it in April, and QTS dropped its last appeal on July 2, 2026, ending the project.
📜 Data center rules
Supervisors voted 5-2 to update the noise law so data center cooling systems must meet noise limits around the clock: 73 decibels by day and 68 at night, measured on the 'C' scale that captures low hum. Residents and the county's advisory group had asked for a stricter method.
An aerial photo of the area.
Where this comes from
- Prince William leaders deny Dulles South data center plans · InsideNoVa · July 8, 2026
- Supervisors reject Dulles South data center complex · Prince William Times · July 8, 2026
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