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<\/p>\nSince Immigration and Customs Enforcement appears to have abandoned plans for converting some of its new warehouses to detention facilities, many questions remain about the future of the properties.<\/p>\n
A big one, at least in Pennsylvania, is how to offset millions of dollars in local government revenue that\u2019s been lost now that the properties are tax-exempt.<\/p>\n
Some local officials have hoped for payments in lieu of taxes from the federal government \u2013 while others say they don\u2019t expect that to happen.<\/p>\n
The loss amounts to about $1.6 million annually, combined, for six taxing districts between the two sites in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, and Upper Bern Township, Berks County, according to local officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to sound pessimistic, but if they mothball it, I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to get anything,\u201d said Pine Grove Area School Board Treasurer Dave Frew, noting the hope is that the government will sell.<\/p>\n
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Jessica Kourkounis<\/p>\n
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For the Pennsylvania Capital-Star<\/p>\n
The site of the former Big Lots warehouse in Tremont, Schuylkill County, on March 12, 2026.<\/p>\n
Federal officials stated during conference calls that they\u2019d be open to a three-year agreement to compensate taxing districts for revenue losses, Schuylkill County Board of Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora has said.<\/p>\n
But in Berks County, officials aren\u2019t expecting to get any money through a payment in lieu of taxes because \u201cfacilities of this type are excluded from PILT eligibility\u201d, said spokesman Jonathan Heintzman.<\/p>\n
Like most federal agencies, the Department of Homeland Security is not authorized to execute PILT agreements nor make payments to counties. That\u2019s up to Congress, according to the National Association of Counties (NACO), which has lobbied for years to change PILT policies.<\/p>\n
Generally, the agreements are linked to what are known as entitlement lands \u2014 mainly, national parks and forests, in addition to wildlife refuges, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge areas and other tax-exempt properties administered by agencies within the Department of Interior (which administers the PILT<\/a> program), according to federal statute and DOI\u2019s press office.<\/p>\n The Department of Energy also can make payments for properties that aren\u2019t considered entitlement lands, according to CRS.<\/p>\n Beyond that, a PILT agreement \u2014 or alternative that practically functions as one \u2014 is rare. And, while not impossible, individual payments are unlikely and would occur under limited \u201cextraordinary circumstances,\u201d according to NACO.<\/p>\n Asked about alternative mechanisms, a spokesman for Republican Rep. Dan Meuser (PA-9) said the congressman is \u201cadvocating directly with DHS\u201d \u2014 as he has been for months \u2014 about plans for and concerns about the properties, in general, including for \u201cpayments to be made to Schuylkill and Berks counties to offset property tax revenue shortfalls.\u201d<\/p>\n DHS and ICE\u2019s media relations team have not provided details about payments in lieu of taxes for the Pennsylvania warehouse properties or alternatives that would achieve a similar aim in response to multiple requests from the Capital-Star.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t care if it\u2019s sitting there,\u201d Padora said of the 1.3-million square feet structure in Tremont. \u201cWe want our tax revenue. If they sell, it gets back on the tax rolls. If it\u2019s given to another government agency, we\u2019re going to push for payment in lieu of taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n Jessica Kourkounis<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n For the Pennsylvania Capital-Star<\/p>\n Schuylkill County Commissioner Larry Padora at a town hall in Tremont March 13, 2026.<\/p>\n Padora spoke at his last commissioners meeting June 24 before going on vacation. He confirmed to the Capital-Star July 1 that he hadn\u2019t engaged directly with ICE or DHS in recent weeks about future plans for the Tremont property, a warehouse that\u2019s been sitting empty for about 18 months after former operator Big Lots closed up shop.<\/p>\n Padora hasn\u2019t responded to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star\u2019s attempts to contact him this week. A phone message left for the county solicitor also hasn\u2019t been returned.<\/p>\n Meuser previously provided a statement confirming the DHS is pivoting on its plans for the properties and pledging to \u201cprovide an update upon learning of the definitive future plans for the sites.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Administration\u2019s plans evolved based on operational needs and, in large part, the extensive due diligence conducted by county and local officials, working alongside my office to ensure the best possible outcome for the community. The careful review of the proposed sites and engagement with DHS played an important role throughout this process,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n At one point, the plan was to detain up to 7,500 people in Tremont (which would\u2019ve been one of the nation\u2019s biggest such immigration centers) and as many as 1,500 people in Upper Bern Township in Berks County. Employees would\u2019ve added thousands of additional people to the count.<\/p>\n Meuser\u2019s reference to \u201cdue diligence\u201d refers to the fact that infrastructure in the rural Coal Region area cannot accommodate ICE operations at the scale envisioned<\/a> \u2014 something that local and county officials immediately flagged and that added to the community backlash.<\/p>\n Jessica Kourkounis<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n For the Pennsylvania Capital-Star<\/p>\n Joyce Wetzel attends a town hall March 13, 2026 in the borough of Tremont, where she\u2019s lived her entire life. Wetzel also has been operating a daycare center for 25 years next to the former Big Lots site slated to become an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and processing facility.<\/p>\n Meuser\u2019s statement came more than a week after The New York Times reported the change<\/a>, citing unspecified documents.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat, also said he confirmed the news in a press release<\/a> in mid-June. His office hasn\u2019t responded to the Capital-Star\u2019s requests for more details.<\/p>\n When the properties changed hands last winter, county governments collected recording fees of $37,000 in Schuylkill and $26,220 in Berks (a fraction of the taxes typically generated), according to Padora and Berks County Recorder of Deeds Fred Sheeler.<\/p>\n Upper Bern and Hamburg Area School District each took in $428,000 of real estate transfer taxes, according to Sheeler.<\/p>\n Tremont and Pine Grover Area School District each drew about $660,000, according to Frew, enough to buffer the property tax revenue loss in the short-term.<\/p>\n \u201cThat windfall will help us offset what it would\u2019ve generated [in property taxes]. But that\u2019s a non-recurring revenue,\u201d Frew said, noting school officials aren\u2019t panicking yet because the district has savings, reserves and minimal debt.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a perfect world, the federal government would sell it and trigger another $664,000 in real estate transfer taxes. And the new owner establishes fair market value at $128 million, generating $1.8 million [in annual tax revenue] for us,\u201d Frew said.<\/p>\n In the meantime, ICE\u2019s case before the state Environmental Hearing Board remains status quo. The agency is appealing<\/a> state orders barring local officials from facilitating water and sewage use at both properties.<\/p>\n The board allowed two environmental advocacy organizations\u00a0<\/a> \u2014 the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Green Amendments for the Generations \u2014 to intervene in an order filed June 22<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maya K. van Rossum, who heads both groups, noted ICE contested their petitions to join the case, most recently with a response filed June 11<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen press reports, but their [formal] actions and activities suggest it\u2019s still an outstanding question when it comes to the Pa. warehouses,\u201d she told the Capital-Star. \u201cUntil it\u2019s official and formal, we\u2019re proceeding as though it\u2019s happening. It looks like they\u2019re keeping all options open.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783682178_970_.jpeg\"\/)
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