San Antonio, TX — The federal government is moving forward with plans to convert a massive East Side warehouse into an immigration processing and detention facility, even as other warehouse-based detention projects are being canceled or sold elsewhere in the country.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded GardaWorld Federal Services LLC a federal task order on Aug. 27 to renovate the former Oakmont 410 warehouse at 542 S.E. Loop 410.
The approximately 639,000-square-foot building sits on nearly 40 acres and was purchased by ICE earlier this year for roughly $66.1 million.
Federal contract language says the work will convert the property into a processing and detention facility and provide services necessary to operate it.
About $17.3 million has initially been committed under the new contract, which runs through August 2027.
Planned Capacity
Earlier information provided by ICE to San Antonio officials indicated the facility could process and hold roughly 500 to 1,500 detainees per day.
The project was initially expected to open in 2026, but that timeline later shifted into 2027.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has publicly opposed the project and previously asked the Department of Homeland Security to reconsider the facility, citing concerns about the East Side and what she described as insufficient federal communication with local officials.
The City of San Antonio has also reviewed local zoning rules related to detention facilities, although federal ownership limits how much local zoning authority can affect the project.
Other Warehouse Projects Being Abandoned
The San Antonio project is moving forward while the federal government has backed away from several other warehouse properties previously considered for immigration detention.
Earlier this month, the federal government moved to sell three warehouses in Socorro near El Paso that had been acquired as part of the same broader detention-expansion effort.
Other warehouse projects in several states have also been canceled, transferred or placed under review.
That makes the San Antonio facility one of the warehouse detention projects that appears to have survived the federal review process.
The latest contract marks a major step forward for the East Side project, moving it from planning into the renovation phase.