Engineering - Real Estate Division

Excess Land Available for Sale

Potential Buyer Interest Form

Excess Land Overview

The City of Des Moines owns individual parcels of land and right-of-way, which are needed for a many municipal purposes, such as municipal buildings, streets, alleys, airport, parks, urban renewal and storm water management. When a parcel of land is no longer needed for municipal purposes, the City classifies the parcel as "Excess Land" and attempts to sell it. The sale of excess land provides an opportunity for the City to generate revenue from the sales price, as well as increasing the tax base. Future maintenance costs and liability are also eliminated when excess land is sold. Excess land sales are categorized as either "Project Related" or "Non-Project Related" for accounting and maintenance purposes.

Project Related Sales

Project Related sales are defined as the sale of parcels that were acquired as part of a specific public improvement or urban renewal project, or parcels that are identified and negotiated for sale or exchange as part of property acquisition requirements for the project. The proceeds derived from the sale of Project Related parcels are deposited back into the appropriate Capital Improvements or Operating Budget program accounts, which are used to offset the original land acquisition cost and to support the ongoing goals of that project. Many Project Related parcels were also originally purchased with state and/or federal funding, and those funding guidelines require the City to return any land sale proceeds back to the project.

Non-Project Related Sales

Non-Project Related sales are defined as the sale of parcels that are owned by the City, but were not acquired with project related funds. Most of the City's Non-Project Related parcels are street and alley right-of-ways that were dedicated by platting. Some of these dedicated street and alley right-of-ways were never paved and have no anticipated or known future public need. Other street and alley right-of-ways were used at one time, but are no longer needed for public purposes. The proceeds derived from the sale of Non-Project Related parcels are deposited into the Property Maintenance Endowment Fund.

Property Maintenance Endowment Fund

The proceeds derived from the sale of Non-Project Related parcels are deposited into the Property Maintenance Endowment Fund. The purpose of the endowment fund is to provide financial support for ongoing property maintenance costs for Non-Project related excess land, other City-owned property and emergency needs.

Click here for Sales Revenue History

For more information on purchasing or leasing city-owned excess property, email your request to RealEstate@dmgov.org.


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City of Des Moines, Iowa
Engineering Department - Real Estate Division