When the Commonwealth determines that excess land and buildings are no longer needed, the Department must, by law, obtain legislative approval to sell, transfer or convey the property in any manner. The Department may request approval either through inclusion in the Department’s annual submission of the Surplus Property Disposition Plan each April, or through enactment of special legislation. Properties authorized to be sold to the general public are sold through a sealed, competitive bidding process. The Department is not permitted to negotiate the sale price at any point.
Surplus properties currently available for sale are posted on eMarketplace. When potential proposers download a bid package from eMarketplace, proposers are responsible to check the site periodically until the bid closing date in case a modification is made. Changes will be listed under the Flyers/Addendums found on the Advertisement Information page.
Electronic notifications of new bidding opportunities or modifications to existing bids are available by signing up for eAlerts. (NOTE: Select ‘800000000’ under Bureau of Procurement – Services to receive the Real Estate eAlerts.) eAlerts are considered a courtesy, and therefore, not a guarantee that eAlerts will be sent or received.
The Bureau of Real Estate manages the process through which state agencies lease additional office space, Pennsylvania liquor stores and warehousing. All leasing requests and lease actions are reviewed for cost-saving opportunities, such as the colocation and consolidation of staff to reduce the total amount of space the Commonwealth rents and reduce the overall administrative work related to managing leases.
Current lease solicitations by state agencies are posted on eMarketplace. When potential proposers download a bid package from eMarketplace, proposers are responsible to check the site periodically until the bid closing date in case a modification is made. Changes will be listed under the Flyers/Addendums found on the Advertisement Information page.
Electronic notifications of new bidding opportunities or modifications to existing bids are available by signing up for eAlerts. (NOTE:Select ‘800000000’ under Bureau of Procurement – Services to receive the Real Estate eAlerts.) eAlerts are considered a courtesy, and therefore, not a guarantee that eAlerts will be sent or received.
Occasionally, the Commonwealth needs to acquire property for specific capital projects around the state. Typically, locations are established by legislation and must be acquired at fair market value as established by an independent appraisal. The Department does not accept donations of property nor unsolicited offers to sell property to the Commonwealth.
The Indigenous Mineral Resources Development Act (Act 147 of 2012) enabled DGS to lease oil, gas and mineral (OGM) rights beneath Commonwealth-owned and Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education-owned property. (This does not include property controlled by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission which have separate legislative authority to lease OGM rights.) Interested parties may nominate properties for OGM leasing by submitting all required information to the Bureau of Real Estate. A nomination is not a guarantee that the submitter will be able to lease the OGM rights.
Questions and nominations for the oil, gas and mineral leasing program should be referred to (717) 787-4394 or to RA-GSGSBRE-OGM@pa.gov.
The Bureau of Real Estate maintains the Commonwealth-Owned Land & Building Inventory which is a comprehensive listing of all Commonwealth-owned land and facilities, excluding highways and highway right-of-ways. The inventory is updated weekly.