GAINESVILLE, Va. (DC News Now) — A controversial plan to turn roughly 2,100 acres of rural Prince William County land into a massive data center hub is taking a step forward — but pushback remains, and is only getting louder.

The two companies working on re-zoning proposals to present to the county, QTS Realty Trust and Compass Datacenters, are holding open houses to discuss the plans. Compass Datacenters held its last week, QTS has one planned for Tuesday evening in Haymarket.

In addition to those events, the companies recently shared an update of its Master Corridor Plan, which includes renderings of what the data center buildings could look like, and what it calls the Open Space Program.

The program, which includes a trail network equestrian trailhead, is the latest attempt to ease concerns over frustrations that the project could negatively impact the land and the residents who live nearby.

Elena Schlossberg leads the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, an organization that opposes the PW Digital Gateway project. She told DC News Now she does not believe the companies when they claim about 800 of the roughly 2,100 acres will be protected or reforested.

“They’re trying to gaslight everybody into believing that preservation is industrialization, and it’s not,” she said. “What is happening here is data center development is consuming our natural and cultural resources.”

In addition to the environmental concerns, opponents worry the nearby Manassas National Battlefield Park could be harmed.

“I think [the plan] is disingenuous,” said Kyle Hart, with the National Parks Conservation Association. “If they were serious about protecting the Battlefield and protecting historic resources, they would choose a different site for this project.”

Hart recently penned a letter to the two companies expressing frustration, calling the project “one of the worst threats [to our national parks] we have ever seen.”

The companies have pushed back.

Chris Curtis, the SVP of Acquisition and Development of Compass Datacenters, told DC News Now last week, “We have a tremendous amount of open space, a lot of very positive environmental impacts, including reforestation… [and] we’re protecting these cultural resources,” citing digs done on the proposed site.

There is no set date on which the re-zoning will go in front of the county’s Planning Commission.

Previously, the county voted to amend its Comprehensive Plan to allow projects like this one to move forward. Even in that initial step, the public hearing lasted hours, with speakers testifying consecutively from evening through the morning.