ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Federal immigration officials are considering Orange County as the site of a new detention facility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
ICE Senior Advisor David Venturella confirmed this with Channel 9 Investigative Reporter Ashlyn Webb after more than 30 people, including ICE officials and federal contractors, were seen leaving a site visit at a vacant warehouse off Transport Drive Friday.
Venturella says it’s “exploratory,” and ICE is in very early talks.
Several sources told 9 Investigates ahead of the site tour that ICE may be looking at this specific property.
The warehouse is located at 8660 Transport Drive in the back of an industrial park in Sunbridge and is surrounded by woods.
We found the property’s lease listing online, showing the inside of the more than 400,000 square foot warehouse. It’s marketed as a “state-of-the-art facility” with a prime location within minutes of Orlando’s major highways, right off of State Road 528, and within a 30-minute drive from Orlando International Airport.
It has 98 exterior dock doors and four drive-in bays.
The listing says “the facility’s advanced cross-dock configuration enables efficient unloading and loading of goods from inbound to outbound transportation.”
Records show the property is currently owned by Beachline Logistics Center LLC tied to Atlanta-based developers, TPA Group. We have not heard back from the developers.
“Has the contract been signed yet?,” 9 Investigates asked.
“Oh no,” Venturella replied.
“You guys are just in talks,” 9 Investigates replied.
“We’re not even close,” Venturella replied.
Venturella didn’t say how many detainees this facility could potentially hold or how soon a facility could open.
Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson, who represents District 1, drove by the site Friday. She says local leaders against this proposed facility may have their hands tied, but she has questions on the zoning.
“Typically, when things are zoned for this type of use, warehouse type use or loading docks and that type of activity, you’re not thinking about where the water goes, where water comes in, and what we do with the human waste,” Wilson said.
Venturella wouldn’t say whether this site would need to be rezoned or if it needed to get any conditional use permit if used as a detention facility
“Don’t know what those requirements are. But obviously, we have to factor all that in,” Venturella told 9 Investigates.
The property falls within Orlando City’s zoning. When asked about this, the city said in a statement, “The city has not received any information or rezoning requests for the specified address nor any further information.”
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