{"id":103464,"date":"2026-02-03T02:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T02:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/103464\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T02:14:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T02:14:18","slug":"ice-buys-87m-warehouse-in-berks-county-as-it-plots-expansion-of-immigration-detention-centers-across-the-u-s-northern-berks-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/103464\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE buys $87M warehouse in Berks County as it plots expansion of immigration detention centers across the U.S. | Northern Berks County"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was produced by\u00a0the Berks County bureau of Spotlight PA<\/a>, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom. Sign up for Good Day, Berks, a daily dose of essential local stories\u00a0at\u00a0spotlightpa.org\/newsletters\/gooddayberks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UPPER BERN TWP., Pa. \u2014 The Trump administration has quietly purchased a nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Berks County as it plans to convert such facilities into immigration detention centers across the U.S.<\/p>\n

The warehouse, located at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township, was sold to the U.S. government on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for $87.4 million,\u00a0deed records show<\/a>. The purchase was recorded on Feb. 2.<\/p>\n

Spotlight PA visited the warehouse, which is located about a mile from I-78, on Jan. 15 and witnessed about two dozen individuals touring the exterior of the building. One man who arrived early to the site that day identified himself to a reporter as ICE.<\/p>\n

The property was most recently called the Hamburg Logistics Center, and before that was the site of the Mountain Springs Arena, a county landmark known for rodeos and demolition derbies. It neighbors an Amazon warehouse and the Mountain Springs Camping Resort.<\/p>\n

The building is one of at least 23 that\u00a0ICE plans to convert<\/a>\u00a0into an immigration detention facility, Bloomberg reports. The Berks County warehouse could house up to 1,500 beds.<\/p>\n

ICE also finalized the purchase of a warehouse in nearby Tremont Township, in Schuylkill County, on Monday, according to a deed. The Tremont property is located less than 300 yards from a daycare center and has already\u00a0faced<\/a>\u00a0fierce resident opposition.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for ICE did not answer any questions about the Berks County warehouse purchase and instead lauded the agency\u2019s targeting of \u201cvicious criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Upper Bern Township\u2019s solicitor said in an emailed statement that community leaders learned about the sale on Monday. They declined to answer questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe township was not involved in this transfer and has not received any applications from either the prior or new owners regarding the future use of the property,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cThe township has no further comment on this matter at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Sen. Chris Gebhard and Rep. Jamie Barton, Republicans who represent the area, said they have reached out to federal contacts to gather more information on how the Department of Homeland Security plans to use the warehouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur immediate concerns include the potential loss of property tax revenue for the host municipality, county, and school district, as well as security and perimeter considerations,\u201d the lawmakers said in a joint statement. \u201cWe look forward to engaging directly with the appropriate federal officials to address these issues. Once additional information is available, we will provide an update.\u201d<\/p>\n

The property is assessed at $22 million and currently pays $198,286 annually in county property taxes under the current tax rate of 9.013 mils. Combined with Hamburg Area School District and township taxes, the loss of tax revenue from the federal government\u2019s purchase would be about $624,000.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks) declined to comment on the warehouse purchase on Monday. In an earlier interview with Spotlight PA, she called the then-potential sale \u201cdeeply concerning,\u201d especially given the reports of mistreatment of people detained in ICE facilities. She\u00a0released a statement<\/a>\u00a0about \u201cICE\u2019s action in Minneapolis\u201d on Jan. 27, shortly after federal agents killed Alex Pretti.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy concern is, knowing the track record of some of these other facilities located throughout the country, it’s not good,\u201d she said. \u201cI don’t necessarily want to see something like that being housed in our county.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deed finalized on Monday shows the property was sold to ICE by an LLC connected to PCCP, a national commercial real estate equity firm. The firm\u00a0purchased<\/a>\u00a0the warehouse in 2024 for $57.5 million, deed records show.<\/p>\n

Reached by phone Monday afternoon, PCCP partner Greg Eberhardt \u2014 who is the authorized signatory for 3501 Mountain Road Owner LLC on the latest deed \u2014 denied knowledge of the property and its sale, and refused to comment further.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no idea what you\u2019re talking about,\u201d Eberhardt said before hanging up on a Spotlight PA reporter. \u201cI\u2019m not making company comments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upper Bern Township is situated on the edge of Berks and Schuylkill Counties, with a population of roughly 1,600 people. The community is mostly white, with only 2.8% of residents identifying as another race, according to the 2020 census.<\/p>\n

Bridget Cambria, attorney with Aldea, a nonprofit that provides pro bono immigration legal services, said the detention center will have a \u201cdisruptive\u201d and \u201cchilling\u201d impact on Berks County\u2019s immigrant community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are people that live freely and at peace knowing that they do the right thing, they can do their immigration process or stay with their family or figure out a way to legalize their status, they’re going to be more afraid to do that with a giant detention center in their backyard,\u201d Cambria said.<\/p>\n

A 2022 study by the Detention Watch Center<\/a>\u00a0and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center found that immigrants were more likely to be arrested by ICE in counties with more detention bed-space.<\/p>\n

BEFORE YOU GO\u2026\u00a0If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at\u00a0spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>. Spotlight PA is funded by\u00a0foundations and readers like you<\/a>\u00a0who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.<\/p>\n