The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wrote to Hanover County, Va., in January 2026 saying it wants to purchase, occupy and rehabilitate a warehouse owned since 2022 by Jim Pattison Developments — the property arm of the Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Group — for use as an ICE “processing facility.”
A letter to the county planners
The department sent the letter to the Hanover County planning department the previous Wednesday, sharing its intent to “purchase, occupy and rehabilitate” the warehouse property in support of operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Property records show Jim Pattison Developments has owned the building since 2022. Local reporting in Virginia identified the property as the Lewistown 95 Logistics Center at 11525 Lakeridge Parkway in Ashland, a building of roughly 550,000 square feet on about 43 acres south of Interstate 95, previously advertised as a potential office and distribution centre.
The department said it intends to make modifications to the building, including construction of “holding and processing spaces,” as well as security and equipment upgrades; local coverage of the letter also described possible guard shacks, cameras and tentage. Hanover County said it was told it has 30 days to respond to the letter.
The Jim Pattison Group and Jim Pattison Developments did not immediately return requests for comment from The Canadian Press.
A Canadian giant in the middle of a U.S. fight
The Jim Pattison Group is one of Canada’s largest private companies, a Vancouver-based conglomerate founded by billionaire Jim Pattison with interests spanning grocery stores (Save-On-Foods), car dealerships, media, packaging and real estate.
The proposed purchase arrived as ICE activity was ramping up in Virginia following the inauguration of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who on her first day in office rescinded a predecessor’s order directing state and local agencies into co-operation agreements with ICE. Republican Congressman Rob Wittman told local media he had been contacted by Homeland Security officials about their interest in the district.
Local opponents urged Canadians to pressure the Pattison group not to sell. Richmond-area activist Allie Carpenter said residents fear the facility means ICE is preparing to arrest and detain immigrants in the Richmond area. “Don’t sell it to them,” she said. “There’s a moral obligation to private citizens and companies that work in the United States to resist people being treated this way.”
Backlash — and a cancelled sale
The reaction quickly reached B.C. politics. Green Party Leader Emily Lowan called for a boycott of Save-On-Foods and other Pattison-owned businesses, tying the call both to opposition to ICE’s deportation campaign and to grocery consolidation in Canada. “This boycott is gaining traction,” she said, adding that the episode highlighted how “in many communities, Pattison or Loblaws holds an effective monopoly on our food supply.”
Within days, the deal collapsed. On Friday, Jan. 30, Jim Pattison Developments announced the sale would not go ahead, stating simply: “The transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia will not be proceeding.” The company offered no further explanation.
