U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly planning to outfit a 1 million-square-foot distribution hub in North Texas into what is expected to be a detention center for up to 9,500 detainees.
The government agency is considering an empty industrial facility in Hutchins, Texas, a city about 10 miles south of downtown Dallas, for a so-called mega detention center, according to the Dallas Morning News citing internal ICE documents.
Majestic Realty Co. developed the Hutchins facility on a speculative basis in 2022 and sought to lease it to a major distributor. But years later, the facility remains vacant. Majestic Realty did not return multiple phone and email requests from CoStar News seeking additional information.
"At this time, we have no new detention centers to announce," an ICE spokesperson told CoStar News in an email. Even so, with the Department of Homeland Security "conducting law enforcement activities across the country," the spokesperson said, it "should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space."
Federal immigration enforcement efforts have been in the news with public protests against agents pursuing arrests, particularly over the past month in Minneapolis. Two people were shot and killed by federal agents who U.S. government officials have said were responding to threatening behavior by those who were shot, but critics say video of the incidents shows the shootings were unjustified.
Democrats in Congress were leading a push to target Department of Homeland Security funding and say they want changes made to procedures.
For Hutchins, a city with roughly 8,000 people, the potential detention center could double its population at times. The facility is one of the city's top 10 revenue generators, paying $1.8 million each year in property taxes, according to city documents.
As of Wednesday, the city of Hutchins had not received any official information confirming reports of an ICE facility in its municipality or spoken with anyone from the federal government, the city said on its website.
Majestic Realty completed a one-year extension on its construction loan for the Hutchins facility for nearly $64.7 million in September, extending the loan until August 2026, according to Dallas County deed records. Following the loan extension,
Majestic Realty began work on upgrading the office and industrial space in the hub, with a state work permit describing the $500,000 project as being "privately funded on private land for private use."
The facility was last valued on the Dallas County tax rolls at more than $80.1 million. As of Friday, Dallas County deed records show the property has yet to trade to a new entity.