TREMONT TWP., Pa. — Commissioners only learned about the purchase of a former Big Lots warehouse for the project this week. Schuylkill County Commission Chair Larry Padora said he didn’t see it coming.

“It was surprising, to say the least. When the deed came in, I was surprised on Monday,” said Padora.

At full capacity, that would give the facility a larger population than Tamaqua, Schuylkill County’s second-largest Borough. That would mean thousands of people in a warehouse where Big Lots had fewer than 500 employees. Padora said, right now, the facilities aren’t there.

And there’s another issue. Big Lots paid almost $1 million in local taxes every year. The federal government will be paying nothing.