The Trump administration finalized purchase of a 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Berks County, Pennsylvania, for $87.4 million, part of a broader plan to convert at least 23 properties nationwide into immigration detention facilities.
The deed for the property at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township was recorded Monday, according to county records reviewed by Spotlight PA. The facility, formerly known as Mountain Springs Arena, previously hosted rodeos and demolition derbies before operating as the Hamburg Logistics Center.
ICE plans to convert the warehouse into a detention facility with capacity for approximately 1,500 beds, making it one of the largest immigration detention centers in the Northeast. The facility sits roughly one mile from Interstate 78 and neighbors an Amazon warehouse, raising concerns from local advocates about ICE's proximity to residential areas.
The federal government paid nearly four times the property's assessed value of $22 million, a premium that county officials attributed to the building's size and strategic location between Philadelphia and Allentown.
The purchase will cost local governments approximately $624,000 annually in lost property tax revenue, according to county budget officials. The previous owner paid $198,286 in county property taxes, with additional amounts going to the local school district and township.
"This will have a disruptive and chilling impact on immigrants throughout the region," said one legal advocate who requested anonymity to discuss community concerns. A 2022 academic study found that "immigrants were more likely to be arrested by ICE in counties with more detention bed-space," suggesting the facility's presence could alter enforcement patterns across eastern Pennsylvania.
ICE separately finalized purchase of a warehouse in nearby Schuylkill County, located less than 300 yards from a daycare center. That facility is expected to accommodate several hundred additional detainees.
The Berks County purchase represents part of a national detention expansion that includes facilities in Texas, Arizona, California, and Georgia. The administration has argued that additional detention space is necessary to process immigration cases more efficiently and reduce the number of individuals released into communities while awaiting hearings.
Critics counter that the expansion prioritizes detention over alternatives like electronic monitoring or community-based supervision, which cost taxpayers significantly less while maintaining high compliance rates for court appearances.
Local officials in Berks County expressed mixed reactions. Some welcomed the federal investment and potential economic activity from the facility's operations, while others worried about strain on local resources if families of detainees move to the area.
Berks County previously hosted a controversial family detention center that operated from 2014 to 2021. That facility, run by a private contractor, faced repeated legal challenges over conditions and was ultimately closed amid concerns about detaining children.
The new facility is expected to house primarily adult males awaiting deportation proceedings or immigration hearings, according to preliminary ICE planning documents reviewed by local officials.
As Americans like to say, "all politics is local"—and in Berks County, where manufacturing jobs have declined for decades, the detention facility represents both an economic opportunity and a values question about the community's role in national immigration enforcement.
ICE has not announced a timeline for when the Berks County facility will begin operations, though federal contracting documents suggest renovations could begin within months.
