Lycoming News

State legislators and local officials from Pennsylvania have urged the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) to address delays in repurposing long-vacant state properties. At a Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing, chaired by Sen. Dave Argall and hosted by Sens. Chris Gebhard and Scott Hutchinson, discussions centered on the financial burden of maintaining unused properties.

Sen. Argall highlighted the issue, stating, “It’s been 1,948 days since former Sec. Curt Topper of DGS based his testimony on reselling state properties around this principle: ‘Time is Money.’ I certainly agree, but since then, these three state centers sit vacant after they were closed by Governor Wolf. Pennsylvania taxpayers deserve MUCH better.”

The vacant Hamburg, White Haven, and Polk centers have cost over $47 million in maintenance so far. The Hamburg Center alone has accrued $23 million in costs since its closure in 2018. Future costs for maintaining these properties are expected to exceed $28 million annually without efforts from DGS to market them.

Sen. Gebhard expressed optimism about reusing these properties: “I am excited for the possibilities to get these unused properties back in action again contributing to the local economy.” He also noted that the state faces fiscal challenges and cannot afford continued spending on vacant buildings.

Sen. Hutchinson criticized the lack of future plans for these facilities: “The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services made plans to close these facilities—some of them decades ago—but has completely failed to come up with any plan for the future of the properties.”

Argall pointed out previous examples where significant sums were spent on maintenance before demolition occurred at other sites like Harrisburg State Hospital and SCI Pittsburgh, costing over $115 million collectively.

Argall concluded with criticism towards current and past administrations: “This governor, the last governor, and their appointed cabinet officers in the Departments of Human Services and General Services should all be embarrassed by their continuing bureaucratic nightmare.” He emphasized that no private entity would sustain such losses on empty properties.

Video footage of the full hearing is available on the Senate Majority Policy Committee’s website.