ICE Retracts Statement on Chester Warehouse Purchase, Officials Cite No Deed

ICE told multiple outlets on Feb. 18–19 that it had not purchased the 401,000 square foot former Pep Boys warehouse at 29 Elizabeth Drive in Chester, Orange County, and that an earlier claim “was sent without proper approval, and this mistake has since been rectified.” County records and local officials back that position: the Orange County Clerk told WAMC there is no deed on file, and Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus told reporters on Feb. 13 that no deed had been recorded.

The announcement clashes with a January federal notice and an earlier Department of Homeland Security email that told WAMC “ICE purchased a facility in Chester, New York” and estimated economic impacts of more than 1,200 jobs, $153 million to GDP, and $37.2 million in tax revenue. Straus News published the federal project description for the site, saying the work would occupy about 35.9 acres and include internal structural changes, surface parking modifications, a small guard building of roughly 150 square feet, an outdoor recreation area, and utility and stormwater improvements.

Local officials pressed practical limits. Chester Town Supervisor Brandon Holdridge told WAMC the warehouse was designed for 100 to 150 daytime workers while ICE was reported as planning up to 1,500 beds, and he said “the town of Chester does not have any more sewage capacity to allocate.” Westfair reported Neuhaus had raised the same sewage-capacity concern and said the county’s records showed no sale had been completed.

State Assemblyman Brian Maher of Walden, whose district includes Chester, reported on Feb. 20 that ICE informed him “its review process had concluded and that the agency would not be moving forward with the Chester site at this time.” That account sits alongside public uncertainty: News 12 Westchester’s Facebook post noted the agency’s reversal and said ICE “did not explain how the mistake happened or clarify the current status of the property,” and the post registered 66 reactions, 102 comments and 11 shares in the local thread.

The Chester episode is part of a wider ICE procurement push. Highlandscurrent cited a federal document saying ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion to expand detention capacity to about 92,600 beds and that the agency recently bought warehouses in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Texas while six other prospective purchases were scuttled by seller pressure. Westfair reported the Chester property had been described in filings as owned by an entity related to businessman Carl Ichan, but Straus News said requests for the purchase price and for any community impact studies went unanswered before ICE issued its retraction.

Records and communications remain the decisive test. County land records show no deed as of mid-February; Straus News and WAMC published the federal notice language and local officials’ infrastructure concerns; and ICE’s own correction says the purchase claim was issued in error. Until the Orange County Clerk or ICE produces a recorded deed, a signed purchase agreement, or completed community impact studies for 29 Elizabeth Drive, the legal and logistical obstacles cited by Neuhaus and Holdridge stand as the concrete constraints shaping whether the site will ever move from notice to acquisition.