Trammell Crow's Merrimack NH ICE Detention Deal Scuttled After Pressure From Residents, ACLU, and Governor Ayotte — First Documented Successful Community Block of a WEXMAC-TITUS Transaction

On February 24, 2026, New Hampshire Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte announced on Facebook that the Department of Homeland Security would not move forward with the proposed ICE detention facility in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The deal — between Trammell Crow Company / Diamond Realty Investments (the building’s joint-venture owners) and DHS — would have converted a 324,000-square-foot industrial warehouse into a 400-to-600-bed immigration detention facility under the Navy’s WEXMAC-TITUS procurement vehicle.

This is the first publicly documented WEXMAC-TITUS transaction that was halted by combined community, ACLU, and state-level intervention before the deed closed.

Transaction Details

• Property: Industrial warehouse in Merrimack, NH
• Size: 324,000 sqft
• Owners: Joint venture of Trammell Crow Company and Diamond Realty Investments
• Proposed use: 400–600 bed immigration detention facility
• Procurement mechanism: WEXMAC-TITUS (Navy contracting vehicle bypassing GSA competitive bidding)
• Program context: Part of DHS’s Detention Reengineering Initiative, target 92,600 beds by November 2026, $38.3B total program budget

Timeline

• Early January 2026: State of New Hampshire knew the location of the proposed ICE facility per Union Leader reporting
• February 3, 2026: ACLU of New Hampshire published obtained state documents confirming ICE’s detailed site plans for the Merrimack facility
• February 3, 2026: Boston Globe published the address confirmation
• February 13, 2026: Granite Post News reported that records tie the Merrimack ICE project to an Ayotte donor
• Mid-February 2026: Merrimack residents organized protests; ACLU expanded pressure
• February 24, 2026: Ayotte announces on Facebook: “I’m pleased to announce that the Department of Homeland Security will not move forward with the proposed ICE facility in Merrimack.” Ayotte attributed the reversal to “productive discussions” with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The Ayotte-Donor Documentary Thread

Granite Post News’s February 13 reporting documented records tying the Merrimack ICE project to a donor to Governor Ayotte. The specific identity and relationship have not been fully surfaced in subsequent coverage, but the finding created political pressure Ayotte had to resolve: either allow the deal to proceed (with a donor benefit), or publicly block it (resolving the conflict appearance).

Ayotte’s initial public posture — saying she had “zero details” about the Trump administration’s plans — was reversed within weeks to acknowledge she had been “aware of its intentions for weeks.” The contradiction drew criticism covered by NBC Boston.

The Scuttle Mechanism

Unlike the Social Circle, GA deal (which closed before the community learned of it) or the Tremont, PA deal (where Schuylkill County commissioners learned from the recorded deed), Merrimack’s transaction was disclosed before closing. Three factors made the Merrimack block possible:

1. ACLU-NH obtained and published state documents confirming ICE’s site plans on February 3, weeks before the deed could close
2. Boston Globe coverage made the address public, enabling resident organizing
3. Governor Ayotte’s intervention with Secretary Noem was pursued in parallel — the “productive discussions” Ayotte cited — rather than relying solely on formal local review

Unlike Social Circle (which had industrial zoning permitting the use and no local review requirement for federal purchasers), Merrimack’s scuttle appears to have been political rather than legal: DHS did not formally abandon the site for procedural reasons; it abandoned the site because the governor’s political position made the deal untenable.

Significance

The Merrimack case is significant in three ways:

1. Proof-of-concept for community resistance. The combination of ACLU documentary exposure + local resident organizing + Republican-governor intervention successfully blocked a WEXMAC-TITUS transaction. This is the model other communities (Social Circle GA, Tremont PA, Allenwood PA) can reference.

2. Donor-conflict political mechanics. The Granite Post News documentary thread about the Ayotte-donor connection illustrates that WEXMAC-TITUS buildouts create donor/political-conflict exposure at the state level, not just the federal level. State governors whose donors benefit from WEXMAC-TITUS sales face pressure that can either shelter or expose the transactions.

3. Trammell Crow’s first documented WEXMAC-TITUS deal failure. Per Bisnow, the Merrimack deal was the first documented failure for the Trammell Crow / WEXMAC-TITUS relationship — though ICE subsequently bought two other warehouses from other sellers in the same timeframe, maintaining program momentum.

Contrast With Contemporaneous Transactions That Closed

The differentiating factor was not the community’s opposition — residents at every site opposed the facilities — but the combination of advance documentary exposure and a politically-motivated governor willing to intervene federally.

Research Gaps

• The identity of the Ayotte donor tied to the Merrimack project
• What Ayotte-Noem specifically negotiated: did DHS receive a commitment from Ayotte on a substitute site, or did DHS simply withdraw?
• Trammell Crow’s current disposition of the Merrimack property — has it been sold to a different buyer?
• Diamond Realty Investments ownership and capital source
• Whether other governors have followed the Ayotte model in subsequent transactions

Related Entries

• 2026-01-29–dhs-purchases-blue-owl-tremont-warehouse
• 2026-01-09–pnk-social-circle-dhs-detention-sale
• 2026-03-29–warren-raskin-letter-52-lawmakers-detention-contractors
• warehouse-fungibility-and-the-detention-hedge
• forst-edward — GSA Administrator during the entire WEXMAC-TITUS program
• (Trammell Crow Company actor/organization entry needed)
• (Diamond Realty Investments entry needed)