On Tuesday, Wired published an article under the headline “ICE Is Expanding Across the U.S. at Breakneck Speed. Here’s Where It’s Going Next.” The story, which covers the rapidly expanding footprint of Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, notes that the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor — the branch of ICE that handles immigration court proceedings — “is planning to move into the Nashville House office building, a business center in the city near multiple churches.”
Nashville House, a commercial office building on Vantage Way in Nashville’s MetroCenter area, is owned by real estate company Freeman Webb. Freeman Webb was co-founded by longtime Nashville businessman and Democratic donor Bill Freeman, who died in 2024. It is now run by Freeman’s son Bob Freeman, a businessman and Democratic member of the state House of Representatives who represents Nashville’s House District 56. Freeman Webb also owns FW Publishing — the company that publishes the Scene, as well as our sister publications the Nashville Post, Nfocus and the Williamson Scene. Bob Freeman does not have editorial oversight regarding what the Scene and its sister publications publish.
Freeman tells the Scene that the building was leased by the U.S. General Services Administration — an independent agency responsible for supplying transportation, property management and other services to various federal agencies — and that at no point was his company told of plans related to ICE.
“There's no mention of ICE anywhere in the lease, anywhere in our correspondence back and forth with [the GSA],” says Freeman, who notes that his company has leased space to the IRS and the military, among other federal agencies. “No discussion of ICE whatsoever. It was asked what the space is going to be used for, and [we were told] it was clerical — a law firm for the government, were the terms they used.”
“I’ve never heard of OPLA until Thursday,” he continues. “My understanding is that they've expanded their footprint with the doubling of the funds under Trump, and they signed this lease with us before that had happened. It's just unfortunate that this is what's happening, and I certainly don't want them there, nor do I want to have anything to do with them.”
When asked if he would be interested in taking recourse to end the lease if possible, Freeman says, “100 percent — we are exploring every avenue and every option.”
Freeman’s official statement on behalf of Freeman Webb is as follows:
“One of our companies entered into a lease agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration, for office space. While we have no authority or input over what agency ultimately uses the space, it was actively concealed from us. We would never knowingly lease our space to ICE. I’ve directed our lawyers to investigate all available legal remedies under the lease, and that work is underway. Our practice is to continually review our policies and procedures, trying to be the best we can for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve. That practice will continue.”
Additional reporting by Julianne Akers.
