Philly’s U.S. Custom House Reappears on GSA Disposition List Amid Federal Downsizing Efforts

An iconic Old City property has been added to a U.S. General Service Administration disposal list for the second time in two months.

Noah Zucker downloaded this image on 03/02/2025
The United States Custom House in Philadelphia is one of several properties in the city being sold by the federal government.

The roughly 437K SF U.S. Custom House at 200 Chestnut St. reappeared on GSA’s website Thursday alongside three other properties in Washington, Ohio and Oregon.

The building has been marked for accelerated disposition.

GSA is focused on rightsizing the federal real estate portfolio to reduce the burden on the American taxpayer while also delivering space that enables its agency customers to achieve their missions,” the agency said in its description of the list.

The Custom House was one of four Philadelphia properties that made it onto an earlier GSA “non-core” asset list which was published March 4 and deleted the following morning.

It appeared alongside the Mid-Atlantic Social Security Center at 300 Spring Garden St. in Northern Liberties, the Veterans Administration Center at 5000 Wissahickon Ave. in East Falls and a fourth property identified only as “Federal Building 05.”

That earlier disposal list, which included 443 properties, was removed from GSA’s website the following morning.

A GSA spokesperson told Bisnow it received an “overwhelming amount of interest” after publishing that list and planned to republish it soon. At that time, the spokesperson also clarified that a building's inclusion on the list didn’t mean it was immediately for sale, but that the government would consider “compelling offers.”

The Custom House was completed in 1934 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. It is home to several federal agencies, including Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Protection field offices and a satellite office for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Philadelphia Newsletters
Related Stories

Federal Government To Sell Nearly 31K SF In Five Points: The Denver Deal Sheet

Avison Young Had Assets Frozen By Bank Over Unpaid Taxes

Philly Retail Momentum Spills From Rittenhouse Into Northern Liberties

Artificial Intelligence Companies Reshaping Dublin Office Demand As OpenAI Confirms HQ

Mars Factory Overhaul Stalls As Candymaker's Chicago Expansion Accelerates

Camden Property Trust Sells West Coast Portfolio, Clears $1.5B Target

'Redefining Industry Standards': RCG's 3-Pronged Approach To Building Automation

Philly's Big-Box Warehouse Owners Subdivide Spaces After Developing 'The Wrong-Size Buildings'

King Of Prussia Pursues Stadium To Anchor $200M Mixed-Use Complex

Empire State Building Observation Deck Hemorrhaging Visitors, Value

Cortland, Pulte, INVH, Walker & Dunlop Execs Talk Changing Demographics, AI

America's War Machine Is Growing, Sparking A Defense Real Estate Boom