Developer says sale of Ashland facility to ICE has been canceled

The Canadian owner of the 43-acre site in Hanover County that was set to be purchased by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for a detainee processing facility says the sale is no longer happening.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security notified the Hanover County Board of Supervisors of its plan to purchase and repurpose a 552,576-square-foot warehouse on nearly 44 acres on Lakeridge Parkway in Ashland. The site, expected to have an assessed value of $50.48 million this year, is owned by Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Developments.

Hanover County supervisors issued a statement this week opposing the plan for ICE to open a detainee processing facility at the location, but they noted that their powers were limited. Jim Pattison’s decision not to sell the building to the federal government puts an end to the matter.

According to an earlier report in The Canadian Press, the company said it was unaware the warehouse would be used as an ICE holding facility when it agreed to sell the property. The company said it publicly listed the site and accepted an offer from a U.S. government contractor and later learned of the building’s ultimate owner and intended use. According to the report, the sale was subject to approvals and closing conditions, and the company said it will comply with “all applicable laws.”

However, on Friday, Jim Pattison Developments issued the following statement on its website: “The transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia will not be proceeding.”

The company, along with ICE and DHS, did not immediately return requests for comment Friday, but on Thursday, an ICE spokesperson said it had no new detention centers to announce at this time, in response to questions about plans in Hanover and a potential Stafford County facility, which has not yet come before county officials as of this week.

Earlier this week, hundreds of people gathered outside the Hanover County administration building before the board of supervisors’ meeting to protest the proposed use. In the past month, ICE agents’ actions in Minneapolis, including the killings of two U.S. citizens, ignited outrage and calls from U.S. elected officials for blocking the agency’s congressional funding.

On Wednesday, the county’s supervisors issued a statement of opposition to the proposed location, saying it was inconsistent with the established land use for the project. The board urged DHS to consider alternative locations, believing the processing facility will change the character of the area, impose unplanned demands on county services and revenues of at least $1 million annually.

The warehouse, built in 2024, had previously been marketed as a potential distribution center.