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Jim Pattison Developments has announced it will not sell an industrial building in Ashland, Va., that was set to be turned into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility.
The development company, owned by B.C. billionaire and philanthropist Jim Pattison, sent out a single-sentence statement Friday, saying, “The transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia will not be proceeding.”
The company said it will not provide any further comment.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Jan. 21, in a letter sent to Hanover County officials in Virginia, that it planned to purchase the 17.6-hectare (43.49-acre) warehouse property for ICE operations, which could have included “holding and processing spaces.”
Pattison has owned the site since 2022.
CBC News has reached out to DHS for comment.
There is more fallout over B.C. billionaire Jim Pattison’s plans to sell a warehouse in Virginia to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. federal government wants to buy the property and turn it into an ICE processing facility. As CBC’s Yasmine Ghania reports, that’s prompted criticism on both sides of the border.
The proposed deal caused backlash in B.C. and drew criticism from the leader of the B.C. Green Party, who called for a boycott of Pattison’s Save-On-Foods grocery stores.
ICE has undertaken an expansive immigration crackdown in the U.S. that has seen federal agents shoot and kill two American citizens in Minneapolis, Minn.
Pattison’s development company said Wednesday that it had not been aware of who the ultimate owner and what the intended use of the building would be when it initially accepted the offer to sell the building.
The company said the transaction was subject to certain approvals and closing conditions and that, as a matter of policy, it does not comment on private transactions.
“However, we understand that the conversation around immigration policy and enforcement is particularly heated, and has become much more so over the past few weeks,” the company said in its Wednesday statement. “We respect that this issue is deeply important to many people.”
Residents in Virginia’s Hanover County, where the warehouse is located, protested the sale at a public meeting Wednesday.
The county’s board of supervisors said the facility would “change the character of the area” and was not consistent with established land use.
“The board hopes that DHS will not proceed with this acquisition and sincerely hope they will look for a more suitable location for this type of operation,” the board said in a statement, noting it had limited power to prevent federal facilities from opening.
Indivisible Vancouver, a Canadian-American advocacy group that had planned to protest the sale at Pattison headquarters in Downtown Vancouver Friday evening, said it’s “ecstatic” to hear the sale has been cancelled.
Protesters will now gather for a “celebration” instead, according to Jim Flom, the group’s founder.
“This is why it’s important for Canadians and Americans and all who believe in democracy to keep the pedal to the metal with non-violent, law-abiding protest and to take a stand against fascism,” Flom said.
