Company wants to bring unaccompanied immigrant children to Accomack County

Pictured: the former Quail Run Assisted Living on Route 13 in Gargatha.

By Linda Cicoira

     A Texas company wants to purchase the former Quail Run Assisted Living/Nursing Home on Lankford Highway near Parksley and use it to provide temporary care for unaccompanied (immigrant) children between 13 and 17 years old, who are under the care of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

     Representatives of the company, Responsive Deployment LLC, were not available for comment Tuesday night. However, Accomack County Administrator Mike Mason was quick to nix any possibility of this endeavor. Mason answered a reporter’s inquiry by email. In his message, he stated the company was advised “this type of use is not allowed in any zoning district under the existing county zoning ordinance.”

     Mason said the county has had multiple inquiries from the company. On May 12, the company “indicated by email that they wish to initiate an amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance that would allow a children’s residential facility to be a conditional use in the Agricultural District.”

     Mason stressed “children’s residential facility is our term for the proposed use but others might have a different definition for what Responsive Deployment would like to use this property for.”

     Amending the county ordinance entails action by the board of supervisors. The usual practice is for the panel to request a recommendation from the planning commission. A request has not been made and is not on tonight’s agenda of the board.

     “According to my conversations with Chairman (Robert) Crockett, the company’s request will not be taken up by the board now or in the future,” Mason said. Responsive Deployment provided the county with an overview of the proposed use of the property.

     Quail Run closed in 2018. In 2019, the joint $2.6 million former 60-bed skilled nursing home and 42-bed assisted living facility was purchased for $250,000. The buyer, Parksley Place LLC, has the same address as Commonwealth Senior Living, formerly known as The Hermitage, in Onancock.

     On Tuesday, Supervisor Paul Muhly said the company had contacted him because they thought he represented the property’s district. The parcel is actually in Supervisor Harris Phillips’ district. Muhly said he, two Responsive Deployment reps, a real estate agent, and Phillips toured the vacant buildings recently. Muhly said they were told the facility stirred interest because it is for sale, could easily house about 185 teenagers, who he believes are mostly from South America, while relatives or foster parents are sought across the nation. The teenagers reportedly would be there for between 20 to 30 days before being shipped out. Then more would be brought in.

     They would be “under lock and key,” the company informed Muhly. “They told us that the entire facility would be fenced in.”

      Response Deployment described itself in a message to the county as “a multifaceted team of industry leaders specializing in child welfare, facilities management, and disaster response. The team has combined technical experience of 50-plus years in operating shelters and emergency sites.”

     Community partners listed by the company included the Virginia Department of Social Services, Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, the Eastern Shore Community College, Iglesia El Candelero De Oro with Pastor Juan Marcos, “and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Hampton and Virginia.”

     Mason said from conversations with representatives of the community college and the hospital, “I believe the use of the term ‘community partner’ is an embellishment.” No formal agreements exist between Responsive Deployment and either of these two organizations. Mason said the two local entities should not be linked to the company for that reason.