Federal lease documents reviewed by News 12 are raising questions about the future of a commercial property in the Town of Newburgh. The documents appear to reveal plans for a secure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility with specialized security features.

According to the U.S. General Services Administration’s Inventory of Owned and Leased Properties, the federal government executed a 15-year lease on June 24 for space at 800 Corporate Blvd. in Newburgh. The 60,143-square-foot property is marketed by National Realty & Development Corp. as a warehouse/office building on a 10-acre campus.

News 12 obtained the federal lease, which outlines extensive security and operational requirements for the facility.

Among them is a requirement for a dedicated sally port, or secure enclosed vehicle entrance, capable of accommodating government vehicles, including detainee buses and vans. The lease also calls for 24-hour government access, Level 3 federal security requirements, secured parking, an emergency generator and other specialized security improvements.

The document also references a small arms and ammunition storage plan among the agency’s required planning documents. The lease itself does not specify whether firearms or ammunition will ultimately be stored at the facility.

The lease covers approximately 42,000 rentable square feet and calls for occupancy beginning on or about Jan. 25, 2027. Lease documents reviewed by News 12 do not identify the tenant agency by name. However, Project Salt Box reports that a now-deleted federal document identified the project as being for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Orange County property records list the building's owner as Business Center Northeast with a mailing address in New York City.

The documents reviewed by News 12 do not describe the facility’s operational mission, if detainees will be processed or held there, or how many employees are expected to work at the site.

The newly leased property is a short drive from ICE’s existing legal office on Route 300 in the Town of New Windsor.

The development comes after ICE previously confirmed plans to establish a detention facility at a warehouse in Chester after the property had been purchased, only to later reverse course and retract that announcement following community opposition. The agency ultimately said the warehouse would not become a detention center.

The lease also comes as ICE has publicly discussed selling several large warehouse properties it previously acquired for potential detention-related operations, raising questions about how the Newburgh facility fits into the agency’s current strategy.

Town of Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquadio tells News 12 that his office has not been contacted by the federal government about the lease. He said officials are reviewing the development and that the town "will see what options" it has.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus told News 12 the county learned of the lease earlier this week but has not been contacted by federal officials. He said he immediately reached out to the governor’s office and New York State Homeland Security for more information and that the county is working with the Town of Newburgh “to get the details of if and when it’s going to actually happen.”

Neuhaus noted that any future development could require local zoning approvals and state Department of Environmental Conservation permits, depending on the project’s scope.

Community activist Ignacio Acevedo, who previously opposed the proposed ICE detention center in Chester, said the newly surfaced lease documents have heightened concerns among residents.

“Now that we have an address, it’s real. There’s panic,” Acevedo told News 12.

Acevedo also questioned the lack of public notification, saying it appeared officials “didn’t want to give the community a say and they just signed their contracts.” He argued the impacts would extend beyond immigrant families, saying local businesses, parks and schools could all feel the effects if people become afraid to leave their homes.

Rep. Pat Ryan also responded Thursday, saying he has sent an urgent inquiry to federal officials seeking answers about whether the site could be used for ICE detention. Ryan pointed to the lease language referencing detainee buses and vans and said the Trump administration has not been transparent with the Hudson Valley about its plans.

“From the very beginning, the Trump Administration — particularly ICE and DHS — have refused to be transparent with our community,” Ryan said in a statement. “I’m urgently seeking answers to figure out exactly what their plan is.”

Ryan previously led opposition to the proposed ICE detention facility in Chester, where a petition opposing the project drew more than 25,000 signatures before the agency ultimately backed away from those plans.

Neither ICE nor the U.S. General Services Administration has publicly confirmed the intended use of the site. News 12 is continuing to work to verify the plans outlined in the lease documents and has reached out to those agencies to obtain information about the facility’s intended purpose and the anticipated operations at the location.

News 12 also reached out to the leasing agent representing the property.