On Jan. 27, 2006, the Harrisburg State Hospital was officially closed under orders of then Governor Ed Rendell. Harrisburg was the 13^th PA state hospital to close, leaving only eight remaining hospitals in the entire state. The closure was officially announced on January 6, 2005. The original plan was for a slow closure that would take place over five years but that was shortened to only one year. The closure was opposed by many, including local legislatures who introduced bills in the house and senate to try and slow or stop the closure. Despite the opposition the hospital stopped accepting new patients in March of 2005. At this time there were about 260 patients residing at the hospital, supported by a staff of 539 employees. The plan was to return about 135 patients back to the community and the rest would be transferred to state hospitals in Danville and Wernersville. By December of 2005 the patient population was down to 86.

It was stated by officials that the decision to close Harrisburg instead of any other PA state hospital was made because it was believed that Harrisburg could better absorb the influx of unemployed people which would result from the closure. Of the 539 employees at the hospital, some would stay on as state employees under the Department of General Services. Other employees would transfer to other state hospitals, while others tried to find employment elsewhere or retired.

The PA Department of General Services (DGS) took ownership of the property on July 1, 2006, and renamed it the DGS Annex Complex. Various state agencies then moved into several of the former hospital buildings and the PA Dept of Public Welfare continued to keep offices in the Administration Building. Private businesses also leased some of the buildings from the state. The former hospital buildings and grounds remained in good hands during the next few years under the "DGS". Almost all the buildings were occupied once again and several of them saw much needed updates and repairs. The campus quickly became a favorite place for many new state employees. The walkways and open grounds of the cottage plan provided them with places to escape to in between their meetings and work. In springtime the beautiful Cherry Blossum trees lining the roads and walkways were an amazing sight. There were even hopes of opening some of the still vacant buildings, such as the kitchen, to provide food options for the state employees, though that never came to fruition.

Beginning in 2021, The PA Department of General Services began working with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Architectural Firm out of New York City, to develop the idea of a Joint Laboratory Facility on the former hospital grounds. In August of 2024 final site design plans were announced to the public. “A $450 million Joint Laboratory Complex that will provide state-of-the-art research and analysis facilities to four state agencies and transform the grounds of the former Harrisburg State Hospital property within five years.”, was the headline of the announcement. This new lab complex is actually a much-needed project for the state, as current lab facilities are ineffectively located all over the state and in many different types of buildings, some of where are not owned by the state. The PA State Police, Department of Health, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will all have labs in the new complex.

Plans for the new complex call for the demolition of all the former hospital buildings, except for the Administration Building, Chapel, Dix Museum, and Dixmont Cottage. These four buildings are to be refurbished and updated for use in the new complex. The Administration Building will become office space, the Chapel will be a conference center, and the two cottage buildings will be training labs for forensics collection. Two new multi-story, modern buildings will be built in the center of the property. Sadly, this lab project really is the best option for the property at this time. After many years of limbo and uncertainty, if this lab project did not happened, it was very likely that the old buildings would have been left abandoned or completely demolished and covered up. In the end we will still have four of the original buildings and that, honestly, is better than most old state hospitals see, just look at the needless demolition of Allentown State Hospital.